Corpus In Flux: The Sonic Persona, Its Affordances & The Layers of an Institution

What happens, when a sonic persona enters the museum? This contribution takes its start with the “Sonic Affordances” that predetermine any sonic experiences of a visitor in a museum, including three apparatuses that serve as major constraints: a) the historical usage, b) the contemporary technical installments and c) the security apparatuses. The second section, “The Disassembling of the Lectern,” explicates the ongoing cultural and technological transformations regarding a structural democraticization and dehierachisation taking place and the consequences regarding the forementioned constraints of the museum. In the final section, “In A Corporeal Flux,” this contribution outlines a possible utopia for curators and museums: how could exhibitions and museum presentations be organized and staged around and through sound and performativity in the near future?