Show and tell

The first thing to be said is that Simon Denny has put up an extraordinary show at the Marciana Library in Venice. It’s not a warm bath; some of the material is challenging and the detail is often overwhelming, but underlying it all is the strong sense that Denny may have cracked a new way of dealing with bulk information. This is not information architecture as promoted by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman, and maybe it’s even the opposite. 

To see Denny’s shiny 3D versions of PowerPoint slides is to think again about the way we have come to communicate or, as Denny suggests, come to ‘a different feel for what information means.’ All this is amplified as the exhibition is encased in a  mid sixteenth century version of the same idea, as Titian and the others figured out ways to depict knowledge in interlocking systems. 

What the art crowd will make of all this is still to come, but early indications are very positive. By boldly demonstrating how common methods of expressing power can span centuries, Denny has spoken eloquently to the spirit of our uneasy times. You can see more images from Simon Denny's installation here on OTN: STUDIO.

Images: Top, Denny in Venice, midle the entrance to the installation and Simon Denny talking to visitors. Bottom, Secret Power.