File photo
Doha, Qatar: In recent years, the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about significant transformations across various facets of society, and museums are no exception to this digital evolution.
Museums are undergoing a shift from traditional repositories of art and artifacts to dynamic spaces that embrace cutting-edge technology. And the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum (QOSM) is a testament of that, notably with its recent foray into digitalisation through the unveiling of the film art exhibition “A 21st Century Portrait, 2006” by filmmakers Douglas Gordan and Philippe Parreno.
Adrian Fisher, Head of Digital at 3-2-1 QOSM, explained the museum’s venture into digitalisation. He emphasised the museum’s recognition of the accelerating trajectory towards artificial intelligence. “The reason for that is we are drifting in an accelerated way towards artificial intelligence and I think many of us understand what that might mean for the future,” he told The Peninsula.
Fisher noted that the exhibition uniquely explores traditional filmmaking techniques, capturing unedited, contiguous, and continuous footage. The deliberate use of camera movements, zooms, and focus shifts provides viewers with an immersive experience, altering perspectives between players and the crowd. He asserted that this approach transcends the constraints of fixed positions in a live football match, offering a novel and enlightening view of the game.
“This really opens your mind and eye to the whole concept of what’s going on in the game.” Aalia Al Khater, Head of Exhibitions at 3-2-1 QOSM, underscored the contemporary relevance of the exhibition. Despite being shot in 2005, the showcased film captures the essence of modern football viewing habits.
She acknowledged the pervasive digital landscape, where people engage with content on screens, and sees the exhibition as a reflection of this digital era. She explained that the museum, in alignment with technological advancements, is redefining its focus. Instead of solely preserving sports artifacts and memorabilia, there is a shift towards capturing sports in innovative ways.
“I think with how things are moving and transforming in terms of technology, we as art institutions are doing so as well and a lot of the arts surrounding sports has changed a lot and instead of focusing on the artifacts and focusing on old sports memorabilia, we are moving towards how can we capture sports in a different light, in a different way, I think technology serves as that way and i think this is a perfect example of that,” she told The Peninsula.
Al Khater sees technology as a tool to achieve this transformation, and the film art exhibition exemplifies this progressive approach.
The new film art installation “A 21st Century Portrait, 2006 by filmmakers, Douglas Gordan and Philippe Parreno,” is an experimental cinematic portrait of French footballer, Zinedine Zidane wherein 17 cameras focused on him throughout the course of a single match. The real-time match soundtrack overlaid with original music by Scottish rock band Mogwai.
