The #JIRIWOLKER exhibition at the Prostějov Museum conveys the poet's legacy with the help of artificial intelligence

The intention of the exhibition is to connect the past and present to familiarize primarily the young generation with the personality of the poet and his ability for imagination, curiosity, and critical view of the world in which he lived.

Using the tools of artificial intelligence, pen, and brush of today, visitors are enabled to become Jiří Wolker. To write poems, illustrate, or express themselves on current topics. The results of their creations are projected at the exhibition in direct dialogue with the life of Jiří Wolker, mediated by a timeline.

Conceptual Solution

According to the museum representatives, the new exhibition transcends traditional boundaries of museum presentation. It is based on the symbiosis of history, art, and new technology. "Our ambition was to create an exhibition that would not only inform but also inspire. Jiří Wolker was not just a poet; he was a visionary whose words still have something to say," stated the museum director Veronika Hrbáčková.

"We wanted to ask who Jiří Wolker would be today, what themes he would address, and thus motivate the younger generation to reflect. The added value is the information we gain about the way they think," the architects of the studio stated. "We encourage visitors to take a curious approach when creating 'prompts' (text specifications for obtaining results) for artificial intelligence, which helps them become familiar with it. For the opportunity to converse with Wolker or illustrate his poems, it is natural for them to first learn something about him on the timeline." The architects describe the educational dimension of the exhibition. By transferring Wolker's imaginative abilities, the architects allowed visitors to create illustrations of Wolker's poems or even co-write verses with his virtual mirror. By actively involving visitors in the exhibition, they created an interactive installation with the undeniable possibility of sharing results under the hashtag #jiriwolkerMGP, thereby inspiring further creativity.

The Exhibition

On the second floor of MGP, visitors are invited to meet Jiří Wolker on the timeline of the poet's short yet fulfilled life. The timeline, along with excerpts of his poems, presents the work of the young poet from Prostějov (1900–1924) against the backdrop of his life and selected historical events, as if narrated by Jiří himself. "He lived in a time full of political, cultural, and social changes to which he reacted directly or indirectly in his poetry," stated the museum on its website.

Exhibition participants will take a seat in the author's chair at a computer equipped with AI, where they can create, write verses, share their reflections, critical topics, illustrations, or converse with Wolker. All communication occurs against the background of an application that utilizes artificial intelligence algorithms on the DALL-E and Chat GPT4 platforms. "This will be updated throughout the duration of the exhibition according to the development of Open AI," added developer Jiří Dosoudil.

At the exhibition or on their own devices, everyone has the opportunity to share their result under the hashtag #JiriWolkerMGP. On the opposite side, in the gallery of generated contributions, they will become both curators and spectators of their exhibition. "Eventually, everyone can become one of the co-authors of a book that will be published from selected contributions," the authors of the installation added. As part of regular blocks, lectures and workshops with thematically inspiring personalities are planned in connection with the exhibition.

Construction, Material, and Spatial Solution

Our concept is based on a neutral white space that, like a blank sheet of paper, cannot be categorized into a specific place or time. It thus motivates the creation of a new story about Jiří Wolker. The focal point of the exhibition is a spatial object whose non-specific shape stimulates imagination. The form is defined by the pragmatic need for a table, shading natural light from the skylight, and the projection light cone. The focused, Bauman-style liquid sheen of the mirror fabric deliberately appeals to the younger generation with its superficiality while simultaneously connecting the functional elements of the object. At the projection site (currently), it is balanced by revealing the raw construction of the object, thereby contrasting the artificiality of the entire installation with reality. The residual areas from the production of plywood ribs were used to manufacture stools and complemented with recycled foam rollers for comfortable observation of the projection.

The central location of the object allows for circulation and for examining information shared on the walls. Given the large amount of information, a single colored text line was chosen by the graphic designer, complemented by less pronounced floating text and images. The connection of archaic and contemporary elements motivated the choice of the exhibition's main color.

In the gallery hall, the original heating protection was removed before the reconstruction, and the floor was raised to hide installations. This enabled the fastening of the object and created a new sensation of softness when walking without shoes.

The original lighting ramp was deinstalled and replaced with hidden lighting in the skylight to supplement natural lighting.

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Theme and Vision: Veronika Hrbáčková
Script, Exhibition Curator: Filip Gregor
Location: MGP Prostějov
Year: 2024