Zurich: Kubrick (2007 odissey in the shopping centre)

So, I have seen the exhibition. I have to admit I am a bit disappointed.
The web sites are very well done, and most of the iconographic material that I like were mostly there. All thought it was very interesting to see it.
The exhibition takes place in a new shopping centre, not crap, a well designed shopping center. Swiss know how to do these kind of stuff. No complain, bu still a shopping centre.
The exhibition has a travelling format: easy to mount, easy to ship, easy to set up, easy to store. With a very traditional and chronological order. You enter with Kubrick photographer, you get out with Tom Cruise and some documents on Artificial Intelligence. Fine. Also interesting is that there is a combo with the movie theater near by where they are showing all the Kubrick movies. Very nice if you missed one of them in the theater. By the way 2001 is highly recommended to see in a movie theater, it is an other experience, not even comparable. When I have seen it in a theater for the first time it was my 3rd year of school of architecture. I believed than I had finally understood what architecture is really about. Hum… maybe I should watch it again. Is is truly an architecture experience or trip.

What I really hated is the fact that the last door when you leave the exhibition is an emergency exit that close right behind you. You end up on fire security stair case, high up in the rain. They just leave you in your poor existence, lost you do not know where exactly and there is anybody to ask since the last person you have seen is behind a fire security door that won’t open from the outside. Just like in those super movie theater with thousands of rooms. The only difference is that there was no pop corn smell around. But I felt some how betrayed. Just like a kick in the ass, or worst. Not even the possibility to complain with someone.
So I came to the conclusion that a good exhibition space has to have a decompression area, a small space where you can end the ritual of the exhibition, just like the ritual of getting in. Of course could be the same place. But really you have to know where you are and where you have to go. It needs an intermediate space before stepping back in to the real life.

Here above a Kubrick sketch of Lolita’s mother house. You can clearly recognize the cupboard and the stairs case where the telephone was placed. It is amazing I could really draw out the plan of the house. The spaces are really clearly distributed.