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7. INTRODUCTION 3
MOTIVATION 5
NARRATOLOGY SEMIOTICS 7
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH 10
RESEARCH QUESTION 14
CHAPTER OUTLINE 15
1 THEORETICAL FRAME 16
1.1 A CROSS SECTION OF CROSSMEDIA 16
1.2 MUSEUMS AS NARRATIVE CROSSMEDIA SPACES 22
1.1 NARRATIVE: A COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT 24
2 CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION 29
2.1 ABORIGINAL ART MUSEUM 29
2.2 UTRECHT ARCHIVE 35
2.3 RAILWAY MUSEUM 43
3 CASE STUDY ANALYSES 53
3.1 NARRATIVE STRUCTURE 55
3.2 LAYERS OF CONTENT 60
3.3 NARRATIVE PROCESSES 63
4 DISCUSSION 67
4.1 EXHIBITION STRUCTURES 67
4.2 LEVELS OF NARRATIVITY 70
4.3 INTERACTION PROCESSES 75
4.4 FROM DESCRIPTION TO PRESCRIPTION 77
CONCLUSION 82
ARGUMENTATION 82
RESEARCH QUESTION 83
OUTCOMES 84
FURTHER RESEARCH 86
1

8. LITERATURE 88
WEBSITES 89
ILLUSTRATIONS 90
APPENDIX 1
APPENDIX 2
2

9. INTRODUCTION
In April 1938, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam opened its
doors to an exhibition that was simply called Abstract Art. This
exhibition was curated by Willem Sandberg, the future managing
director of the museum from 1945 until 1962. Mart Stam
designed the exhibition. According to Sandberg and Stam, art
did not need a textual explanation. A view that is still used in
museums today, but is often regarded as somewhat elitist. The
current trend is towards inclusion of target groups that are less
experienced in viewing art. For those visitors, textual explanation
on the works of art and the artist, adds to the experience of a
visit. Sandberg and Stam designed their exhibition without such
explanatory additions. Instead, they used the museum space as a
meaningful medium. By placing the objects in certain relations to
one another, the objects explained themselves.1 And so the media
used to create this exhibition, were the paintings, the small labels
stating the title of the work and the name of the artist and finally
but perhaps most importantly the museum space. James
Bradburne described Sandberg’s views as follows:
‘Willem Sandburg(...) pioneered unjustified text (...), which he
believed challenged convention and had important social overtones.
Sandburg was among the first to recognize the importance of the
visitor’s as well as the museum’s voice, and to argue that they consist
of a dialogue, and not a ‘top-down’ lecture. Along with Marshall
Mcluhan, Sandburg was among the first to champion the ways in
1
J. Leering (1991) p. 53-54
3

10. which the museum had to transform itself – long before the
technology was able to do so.’2
In 1952, fourteen years after the Abstract Art exhibition, Sandberg
installed one of the world’s first audio tours to accompany visits
to the Stedelijk Museum. His views seem to have changed more
in favour of adding explanation to exhibitions. Judging by the
quote above, the texts on the audio tours will have had a
motivating nature, pressing the visitor to look at the objects and
form an opinion of their own. A technique that is still used today,
in the guided tours that the Stedelijk Museum organizes. Apart
from keeping Sandberg’s dialogue with the audience alive, the
Stedelijk Museum has also remained innovative. They are a
pioneer in the field of media usage in museums. For, as Sandberg
foresaw, museums have to keep transforming themselves. New
media generate new possibilities. And it is one of these
possibilities that form the centre of this research: the concept of
crossmedia storytelling.
The digital age brings more advanced possibilities for adding
information to an exhibition. It creates a whole new dimension of
communication and education. This evolution also has an effect
on how exhibitions are designed. The underlying structure of
exhibitions has become more complex. The curator does not only
place objects in a meaningful order but also decides where and
how additional information is needed and in what medium this
is provided. This research is aimed at providing more insight in
this underlying grammar of crossmedia narrations in the gallery
in space.
2
J. Bradburne (2008) p. x
4

11. MOTIVATION
The topic of this thesis came to me while taking the MA course
Crossmedia Storytelling, which is part of the Master program
Comparative Arts and Media Studies at the VU University in
Amsterdam. During the course we studied crossmedia products
such as the TV series Lost and the Matrix film sequence. We also
got familiar with new media theory. What struck me was that
this course was mainly focussed on new media and marketing.
To me however, crossmedia storytelling is not something that is
defined by an era: the digital age, or a purpose: marketing.
Instead of analysing a television series, we can also study a
renaissance church in Italy as a crossmedia concept, by taking
into account the architecture, the paintings, the sculptures, the
rituals, the music and the people that are all celebrating and
adding to the same theological narrative. And apart from being
used as a marketing tool, crossmedia concepts can be used for
other purposes, such as education, too. In chapter one this
extended view on crossmedia storytelling will be explained and
supported by a theoretical frame.
My views on crossmedia storytelling made me experience
museum exhibitions in another way. Although it’s possible to
look at each object in an exhibition separately, the museum
creates another layer of meaning by putting them together. This
Meta level is not only shaped by the choice of objects, but is also
expressed through architecture, the use of staging, exhibition
texts and new media such as audio tours, social media and films.
Museums combine these media to create broad, thematic
concepts. Both old and new media are put to use and museums
5

12. use this for the purpose of marketing, communication and
education. The gallery space becomes a crossmedia narrative.
Other researchers have taken up the idea of museums as
crossmedia platforms as well. This thesis is written in
collaboration with the Crossmedialab, a centre for applied
research in Utrecht. The lab has recently started a project on
crossmedia in a museological. The project is called
Museumkompas and will run for two years. Its aim is formulated
as follows:
...to support professionals working in museums in developing new
and robust crossmedia services. These professionals are increasingly
faced with changing expectations of the public, the increasing
influence of digitalization on the development of public services, and
the growing need for acquiring additional funding because
government funding is not guaranteed anymore. Heads of collections,
curators, managers education and presentation, project managers and
staff members new media must try to withstand these developments.
More so: they must embrace and shape them.3
Harry van Vliet, the managing director and founder of the
Crossmedialab, has agreed to take on an advisory role in the
writing process for this thesis. These insights from the
perspective of applied research will hopefully challenge and
sharpen the theoretical analysis presented here.
3
From the crossmedialab website:
www.crossmedialab.nl/work/project/26/museumkompas
6

13. NARRATOLOGY SEMIOTICS
During this research three case study exhibitions are analysed on
their narrative merits. Before going into how the case study
selection has taken place and what method will be used to
analyse these cases, the basic principles and lexicon to talk about
the structure of crossmedia storytelling on a conceptual level are
introduced. The two fields of study that are described here,
narratology and semiotics, form the foundations of the theories
that will be presented in chapter one.
Narratology, the field of study that specializes in storytelling,
has changed recently under the influence of technological
advancement. Traditionally narratologists were literary scholars,
who focused on questions regarding the storyline of a novel.
Now, film and new media scholars produce work on this topic
as well. Narratology has become an interdisciplinary study and
this has affected the definition of what storytelling is.
In the introduction to ‘Narrativity across media’ (2004) Marie-
Laure Ryan, a narratologist who focuses on storytelling through
new media, defines a narrative by the following three
requirements:
• A narrative text must create a world and populate it with
characters and objects (…).
• The world referred to by the text must undergo changes of state
that are caused by non-habitual physical events (…).
• The text must allow the reconstruction of an interpretive
network of goals, plans, causal relations, and psychological
motivations around the narrated events (…).4
4
Ryan, M. (2004), p. 8-9
7

14. These requirements are medium-independent. According to
Ryan narrativity can take shape in both verbal and non-verbal
media.5 Although she does admit that each medium has its own
narrative qualities and that ‘of all semiotic codes language is the
best suited to storytelling.’6 For a crossmedia product this means
that special attention should be given to what information is
addressed through which medium. According to Ryan some
media have the properties to express a narrative while others only
have a certain amount of narrativity.7 This is an argument that
shall resurface in the first chapter, during the theoretical, in-
depth discussion on crossmedia concepting and narrativity.
Ryan starts her introduction by mentioning the different terms in
which narrative has been researched thus far; the existential, the
cognitive, the aesthetic, the sociological and the technical.8 The
articles in her book reflect this diversity of perspectives. For the
purpose at hand: researching the storyline of an exhibition in
combination with the media usage, the cognitive approach has
been selected. Because ultimately Ryan concludes that narrative
is ‘a cognitive construct or mental image, built by the interpreter
in response to text.’9 So the form of the text, its medium, and the
content are connected in the mind of the beholder. The visitor of
an exhibition brings the story together.
The triangular relation between medium, message and
interpreter forms the core idea of Charles Sanders Peirce’
5
Ibid, p. 15
6
Ibid, p. 10
7
Ibid, p. 9
8
Ibid, p. 2
9
Ibid, p. 8
8

15. semiotic theory, which was published between 1931 and 1936.
His work is recorded in eight volumes of collected papers.10
Figure 1 shows the Peircean semiotic model. Apart from this
model Peirce’ also made a well-known and often used
classification of signs. According to him there are three types of
signs that are defined by their relation to the object they refer to.
The first type of sign is the iconic sign. An iconic sign refers to its
object in a mimetic, direct way. An example of an icon is a
portrait. The painting refers to its sitter through a direct physical
resemblance. The second type of sign is the index. Indexical signs
share either a partly physical resemblance or a cause and effect
relation with the object. A road map is an example of a sign,
which only partly shares physical trades with the object it refers
to. Other indexes are footprints in the sand that refer to the
person that once stood there or smoke coming from a chimney,
indicating the fire burning in the hearth. The third and last types
of signs are symbols. Symbols do not relate to the objects, they are
arbitrary. Language systems are the most symbolic sign systems.
Throughout the theoretical discussion in chapter one the
Peircean model and sign classification forms the basis for new
cognitive theories on media.
Fig. 1
Charles Sanders Peirce‘
semiotic model
10
Peirce, C.S. (1931-1936), p. 49-58
9

16. The cognitive theory on narrativity, placed at the centre of this
research, is by Jerome Bruner. A cognitive psychologist, who
published his book called Acts of Meaning, in 1990. In this
academic work he states that human beings generate narratives
continuously.11 According to him narrativity forms and
structures the reality people experience around them. He says
that humans give meaning to their actions and experiences
through an interpretative mechanism. He describes this system
as ‘patterns inherent in the culture’s symbolic systems - its
language and discourse modes, the forms of logical and
narrative explication, and the patterns of mutually dependent
communal life.’12 This cognitive approach is highly relevant
within the context of museums as narrative spaces. Because,
following up on Bruner’s theory, when people experience an
exhibition space they impose these symbolic patterns upon the
display. In 1991 Bruner adds to this theory by publishing an
article called The Narrative Construction of Reality,13 in which he
sums up what he calls the ten features of narrative. My
preliminary research and review on the literature surrounding
this topic leads to the following research question.
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
A preliminary research was used to find a relevant and
meaningful angle to the topic of crossmedia museum
exhibitions. The preliminary research design was not only aimed
at finding a perspective on the topic, but also at the selection of
11
Bruner, J. (1990), p.34
12
Ibid, p.34
13
Bruner, J. (1991)
10

17. relevant case studies. To make the selection of case studies less
biased a specified area was delineated: the city of Utrecht. All
the official museums in this area were part of the preliminary
scope, which created a very diverse selection. The following
thirteen museums in Utrecht were analysed at this stage.
- Aboriginal Art Museum (appendix 1.1)
- Centraal Museum (appendix 1.2)
- Money Museum (appendix 1.3)
- Dick Bruna House (appendix 1.4)
- Dom Tower (appendix 1.5)
- Utrecht Archive (appendix 1.6)
- Museum Saint Catherine’s Convent (appendix 1.7)
- Museum Speelklok (appendix 1.8)
- Sonnenborgh Observatory Museum (appendix 1.9)
- Dutch National Railway Museum (appendix 1.10)
- University Museum Utrecht (appendix 1.11)
- Wijk C working-class museum (appendix 1.12)
- Museum Maluku (appendix 1.13)
An inventory was made for each of these museums. These
inventories, to which the appendix numbers refer, contain a
description of the core content the museum wants to bring across
and list the media types that are used by the museums to
communicate with their visitors.14 These media were categorized
by using Robert Semper’s museum media chart as explained in
his study Designing Hybrid Environments: Integrating Media into
Exhibition Space (1998) (fig. 2).15 Semper’s model shows the
amount of interactivity that the medium allows in that specific
14
See: appendix 1 for the thirteen preliminary inventories.
15
Semper, R. (1998), p. 119-127
11

18. context and specifies which role these media play within the
exhibition.
Fig. 2
Robert Semper’s museum
media chart
A medium within Semper’s theory is regarded as a technological
device. Because crossmedia concepts do not only make use of
digital media, the analogue media that were encountered were
also placed in Semper’s model. Analogue media used in the
museums were labels, texts on the wall or on a room-sheet, a
hands-on spot and guided tours; in some cases the architecture
and design of the exhibit played a crucial role as well. In the
museums in Utrecht the following media types were used: audio
tours and pod catchers, smart phones, video and projections,
touch screens, interactive presentations and web based media
such as social media.
This preliminary research gave two important insights that
ultimately led to the research question for this study. First of all it
turned out that the media used in these exhibitions are hard to
12

19. compare to one another. Some devices can be used in a single
way, whilst others are more flexible. A hands-on table is used to
signify objects that can be touched by the visitor. This creates an
interaction between the visitor and the collection in another
modality: touch. Other media, such as the pod catcher, can be
used in more than one way. The pod catcher can function as an
audio guide, but also has the option to read out a quiz. The
visitor is then able to press the A, B or C button to answer the
questions. Media that can take on different medium specific
traits complicate the categorization process. Viewing media as a
type of device or object does not account for the wide array of
media possibilities. The device type is part of the medium
context instead of being the medium itself. Semper researches the
context of a medium and how a visitor is able to respond to it.
This is very useful when studying a crossmedia concept. It places
a single medium in the context of a larger plan. However, this
cannot lead to a prediction of how a medium will function in
another context. It does not profile the medium specificity itself.
Second of all, and for this research more importantly, Semper’s
model is unable to account for the relation between content and
structure. In order to research crossmediality the relation
between content, media type and structure is very important. In
a crossmedia platform the content of several media combine into
a storyline. Each medium adds something new to the story in its
own specific way. And all these media are placed in a certain
order. During the case study analyses this relevance between
storyline, medium specificity, structural ordering will be
addressed.
13

20. RESEARCH QUESTION
How can Bruner’s ten narrative features aid in creating a model,
of the structure underlying the narrativity in the crossmedia
concepts, museums in Utrecht have to offer?
Finding a common structure between crossmedia products is a
daunting task. Not only because of the diversity and multi
functionality of the media used, as was addressed in the section
on narrativity and semiotics, but also because the content of
crossmedia are so diverse. This is no different when limiting the
scope to museum concepts alone. Bruner’s narrative features
label the different tools and materials that are necessary to form
a storyline. By analysing the presence and relations between
these features in the case studies, a comparison can be made.
This comparison hopefully leads to a number of connections
between features, and perhaps other structural elements, these
case studies have in common.
Because it was impossible to look at all the museums in Utrecht
at the same time, three case studies were selected. These case
studies represent three ways of dealing with a crossmedia
exhibition. Because the aim is to compare between very diverse
concepts, the case studies are deliberately chosen to challenge
the method to the fullest. The selection consists out of the
following three cases: the Aboriginal Art Museum, the Utrecht
Archive and the Railway Museum.
14

21. CHAPTER OUTLINE
Before describing these case studies in detail, the theoretical
frame will be presented in the next chapter. The theoretical
frame will contain in-depth discussions on crossmedia,
narrativity in museums and of course on narratology in general
and Bruner’s psychological theory specifically. Chapter two will
then describe each case study in detail in by using both imagery
and words. After this, chapter three will provide analyses of the
application of Bruner’s features in the three case studies. These
analyses will amount into a discussion in chapter four. This is
where the relations between the structural elements that are
described in the previous chapters will be debated and
visualized. The research will come full circle in the conclusion,
which answers the research question.
15

22. 1 THEORETICAL FRAME
1.1 A CROSS SECTION OF CROSSMEDIA
This section will answer two important questions: What is the
role of narrativity within a crossmedia concept? And when is an
exhibition a crossmedia concept? In order to define crossmedia
and the role of narrativity in such concepts, it is necessary to
introduce two key concepts right away.
In Basisboek Crossmedia Concepting (2009) Indira Reynaert,
proposes that there are two types of concepts the term
crossmedia can refer to.16 Reynaert proposes a distinction
between the transmedial, or autonomous concept (fig. 3) and the
dependent or integrated concept (fig. 4). According to her,
crossmedia products often incorporate elements from both
concept types. The theory of Reynaert forms the general
introduction to crossmedia concepting. Let’s take a look at how
these two types of crossmedia are defined.
Transmedia is a term that is not only used by Reynaert. In fact is
Convergence Culture (2006) by Henry Jenkins that has become the
standard work on the transmedial concept and on crossmedia in
general.17 Jenkins defines transmedia by the use of a multitude of
media that function independent of one another, but cover the
same concept.18 Each medium is an elaboration on the narrative
16
I. Reynaert (2009), p. 61-62
17
H. Jenkins (2006), p. 93
18
Ibid, p.93
16

23. that is broadcasted. Jenkins’ example of this concept is the Matrix
trilogy (1999, 2003 2003).19
The story of the Matrix was not only told by the trilogy of films,
but the narrative was extended by using other media such as the
Animatrix20 The Animatrix is a series of nine anime films that
featured additional Matrix stories. And so each animation
elaborates on the story of the Matrix trilogy. The video games
also added to the grant narrative by letting the gamers play out
additional subplots. By using more than one medium the
producer can tell a more elaborate story. But Jenkins doubts that
this is an advantage of transmedial storytelling. In his opinion
the Matrix narrative has become too dense and complex. The
users are unable to keep up with all the subplots that are added.
This affects the user friendliness in a negative way.
So why do producers use transmedial storytelling? From a
commercial point of view this is very understandable.
Transmedial storytelling ensures the producer, that new target
groups become familiar with the story. Gamers, who might not
go to cinemas often, are introduced to the same narrative concept
as film lovers and vice versa. This means users are able to
unravel the story through the media types they feel most
comfortable with. And if they are so hooked on the story that
they want to know more, they can start exploring other media as
well.
19
The trilogy sequence contains The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and
The Matrix Revolutions
20
The Animatrix film The Second Renaissance (2003) featured on the DVD of the first
Matrix film.
17

24. Fig. 3 (left)
Reynaert’s transmedial
concept
Fig. 4 (right)
Reynaert’s integrated
concept
The second type of crossmediality Reynaert defines is the
integrated concept. This type of crossmedia concepting is defined
by one plot that is broadcasted through a multitude of media
channels. Each medium has its own medium specific traits. In a
media concept these traits can either be regarded as strength or
weakness. An integrated crossmedia concept aims at putting
media together that bring out each others’ strengths and block
out each other’s weaknesses. By doing this each part of the story
is brought across in the medium most fitting and this makes the
story more powerful.
Both types of crossmedia concepts, integrated and transmedia,
share the idea of using more than one medium to bring the story
across. The difference is that in a transmedia concept the
different media can be experienced separately. The media in an
integrated concept cannot be taken in individually. The user then
needs all the media input to generate the storyline.
The cross relations between the media within a crossmedia
concept form an important part of how these concepts function.
Part of the conceptualization of crossmedia is therefore aimed at
accounting for the different relation types that are possible
18

25. between media within a crossmedia concept. In other words:
How can the ‘cross’ in crossmedia be defined? Two theories on
crossing within crossmedia will be discussed in here. The first
theory focuses on the level on which the crossing takes place,
while in the second theory the relation between the media
content is conceptualized.
In her article Current State of Cross Media Storytelling: Preliminary
observations for future design (2004), Christa Dena defines the cross
relations between media by conceptualizing different levels of
crossing. The highest level of crossing is from one media channel
to another media channel. This level of crossing is called a cross-
channel relation. An inter-channel relation means that there is a
switch within a channel from the use of one modality to another.
The final level of crossing Dena defines is mono medial and
mono modal. This relation is called an intra-channel relation.21
In order to understand Dena’s levels of crossing, it is important
to know what she considers a channel. According to Dena, a
channel is not only the medium used, but also refers to the
environmental conditions in which this medium is placed. This
means that a film in the cinema is considered another channel,
than a film seen at home on DVD. To make Dena’s levels even
clearer table 1 is added. This table gives a concrete example for
level of crossing Dena has proposed.
21
C. Dena (2004), p. 3-5
19

26. Cross Crossing between channels From an
channel interview on
level the TV screen
within an
exhibition to a
room sheet
Inter- Crossing within a channel From a radio
channel (single-channel), between programme
level modes (multimodal) online to a
website
Intra- single-channel, mono-modal From one film
Table 1
channel crossing in the cinema
Dena’s cross relation types
level: to another
film
In Idola van de Crossmedia (2008), Harry van Vliet, who has
already been mentioned as the founder of the Crossmedialab, has
taken another approach. Instead of establishing on what level the
cross relation takes place, he has looked at the content relations
between the different media used. Van Vliet defines this content
relation between the signs, by using the semiotic sign
classification by Charles Sanders Peirce that was described in the
introduction. When the message of one medium is translated
directly into another medium, the medium relation is labelled
iconic. When the message directs the user to another medium, the
relation is defined as indexical. Sometimes there is no direct
relation between the content of the different. But the message in
each of the media adds something to an overlapping concept. In
this symbolic relation the link between media is made in a covert
20

27. way.22 In table 2 each of these relation types is paired with a
concrete example again.
Iconic Content is Audio tour text that is also
relation translated offered on a room sheet
directly from
one medium into
the other
Indexical Content that Television advertising that directs
relation directs the user a consumer to the website for
to another more info
medium
Symbolic Content that The Rijksmuseum brand is
relation adds to the same brought across through products,
Tabel 2 overlapping lectures and a magazine. The
Van Vliet’s cross relation
concept in a Rijksmuseum name is the
types
covert way overlapping concept. The media
are only covertly connected to
each other
These two relation typologies by Dena and van Vliet can be
taken into account when creating the visualization between the
different narrative elements analysed in chapter four. In the last
section of this chapter, Bruner’s features will be introduced.
During the description of these features, the insights presented
here will be tied to Bruner’s terminology. This terminology will
be used throughout the rest of this thesis.
22
H. van Vliet (2008), p. 6
21

28. 1.2 MUSEUMS AS NARRATIVE CROSSMEDIA SPACES
...museum architecture moves from “showing” to “telling” and from
classification to narrative.23
In the field of museology, the term crossmedia has not quite
settled in yet. Instead, scholars make use of a broad scope of
terminology, when referring to crossmedia. Some scholars talk
about spaces for multimedial or interactive informal learning.24
Others call exhibitions narrative space.25 Flavia Sparacino is one of
these scholars. But before introducing her views on the ‘blending
of media design and architectural disciplines’26, a more general
introduction on the museologial concept of Space Syntax is
presented.
Two scholars who have worked on the study of architecture as a
narrative feature in museums are Bill Hillier and Kali Tzortzki.
Space Syntax they call it, a term derived from the field of civil
engineering. Syntax is a term used in linguistics to describe the
sets of rules that underlie the structure of phrases. Space Syntax
aims to offer a same set of rules to describe the ordering principle
behind exhibitions. In their article called ‘Space Syntax: The
Language of Museum Space’, published in 2010, these two
museologists study how the layout of a museum affects the
visitors view and action around objects.27 Hillier has been
studying space syntax since his first article on it in 198228 and
focuses on the layout of museum spaces. Tzorstki connects the
architectural layout to the level of curatorial strategy. In 2003 she
23
B. Hillier K. Tzortski (2011), p. 293
24
G. Leinhardt et. al. (2002)
25
D. Dernie (2006)
26
F. Sparacino (2002), p. 2
27
B. Hillier K. Tzortski (2011)
28
B. Hillier et. al. (1982)
22

29. published a study on the spatial arrangement of the Sainsbury
Wing of the National Gallery in London.29 Space Syntax was
already used by Sandberg and Stam in the thirties and is still
applied by exhibit designers today. But how is the arrangement
of objects, their order, combined with other media in a
crossmedia exhibition? Scholars in the field of space syntax do
not usually account for the information management.
Flavia Sparacino has researched this combination between media
and spatial context. She calls multimedial exhibitions body-driven
narrative spaces. Sparacino is a researcher for the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2004 she published the article
Scenographies of the past and museums of the future: from the
wunderkammer to body-driven interactive narrative spaces on an
exhibition called Puccini Set Designer, a 2003 exhibition by the
Ragghianti Foundation in Milan. She worked on this exhibition
herself as a multimedia curator.30 The article’s aim was to
evaluate the media usage throughout the exhibition. The concept
of medium specificity played an important role in the reasoning
behind the choice of a certain medium. The opera fan corner was
for example a place where opera lover could listen to opera by
Puccini. Instead of using earphones, the choice was made to
incorporate audio spotlights. Whereas earphones isolate the
visitor, the audio spotlights enabled the visitor to listen to the
music in a specific spot without internalizing. Other visitors
could enjoy the space around the audio spotlights without being
disturbed by constant background music, which would have
been the case with regular audio equipment.
29
K. Tzortski (2003)
30
F. Sparacino (2004)
23

30. In museology the concept of narrativity is often viewed in the
light of spatial ordering. Few scholars have linked these spatial
patterns to the other media used in exhibit. However, the
meaning that is ascribed to space syntax suggests that the spatial
context will have an important effect on the meaning of each
medium and the semantic relation between media. As was
pointed out in the previous section, ordering principles are the
foundation of any crossmedia platform.
1.1 NARRATIVE: A COGNITIVE CONSTRUCT
A narrative approach can shed new light on crossmedia concepts
in museums, by making both form and content of the narrative
core comparable. A narrative plot, a concept, is what binds the
different media in a crossmedia exhibit together. This narrative
creates the core of the visitors’ experience. Therefore, instead of
looking at narratives from the perspective of the writer, in this
research the perspective of the reader is centralized. This reader
perspective is clearly present in the theory by Jerome Bruner, as
will become clear in the rest of this section.
Jerome Bruner states that human beings generate narratives
continuously.31 According to him narrativity forms and
structures the reality people experience around them. He says
that humans give meaning to their actions and experiences
through an interpretative system. He describes this system as
‘patterns inherent in the culture’s symbolic systems - its language
and discourse modes, the forms of logical and narrative
explication, and the patterns of mutually dependent communal
31
J. Bruner (1990), p.34
24

31. life.’32 Bruner sums up ten features of a narrative. These features
differentiate between narrative and other types of discourse.
1. Narrative diachronicity
A narrative takes place within a certain time frame. This time
frame is generated by the sequentially of the narrative events. In
a narrative, time can speed up and slow down. The
conceptualized ‘imaginary’ time is different from the time frame
in which the story is read or experienced.
2. Genericness
Each narrative is both generic and particular. The genericness of
a narrative is created by the endless appropriation of specific
narrative types. The tragic love story is an example; two people
in love who cannot be together for some reason, define this type
of narrative.
3. Intentional state entailment
In a narrative the characters have certain beliefs, desires, theories
and values. The receiver of a narrative takes these into account
when interpreting the story.
4. Hermeneutic composability
It is the reader who interprets a narrative. And this reader has a
limited amount of life experience. This influences how he or she
attributes the intentions of the characters and to what extent the
details within a story are understood.
32
J. Bruner (1990), p.34
25

32. 5. Canonicity and breach
Ryan states that a narrative needs ‘a change of state by non-
habitual events’.33 This idea corresponds to Bruner’s canonicity
and breach. The canon is a fixed state that is interrupted by a
breach. A narrative can start by a description of everyday life in a
certain city. All of a sudden something happens that breaks the
pattern. This structure is recognizable in the following sentence: I
was walking through the park, when suddenly....
6. Referentiality
A writer uses known places and people as a reference. Even
fantasy novels use certain references. For example, vampire
novels often refer back to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was
inspired by the knowledge of historic superstitions.
7. Particularity
This is the opposite of genericness. The generic part of a
narrative is filled up with specific data. This is why the story of
Romeo Juliet is different from West Side Story. Although both
deal with a tragic love affair, the specifics of each story make
them different.
8. Normativeness
Because a breach takes place in a story, there is also a norm. The
canon is not only a fixed state; it also creates an expectation on
how a character should behave.
33
M. Ryan (2004), p.9
26

33. 9. Context sensitivity and negotiability
When we listen to a story we take the context into account, for
instance how knowledgeable the storyteller is. We also take our
own knowledge on the topic into account. Narrativity allows for
a certain margin of error so to speak.
10. Narrative accrual
We construct narratives out of a large amount of data and
different versions of a certain narrative. In a crossmedia story the
reader creates this accrual. All the media elements accumulate to
a core narrative.
Some narrative spaces possess more narrativity than others. But
the visitors will always experience their visit through a cognitive
construct that imposes narrativity onto reality. They will add
their interpretative system onto the experience of an exhibition,
creating a personal narrative. Museums have started recognizing
this role of the visitor. Apart from core tasks such as collecting
and conserving, most museums have now treaded in the
footsteps of Sandberg and started a dialogue with their visitors.
This enables visitors to actively interact with the crossmedia
exhibitions that are on display.
The museum still plays a key role in the construction of narrative
space. Let’s not forget that visiting an exhibition is not an
experience of reality. By using space syntax and by adding
addition mediated information and narrative, the museum
shapes the experience of the visitor. The visitor and the museum
institute work together in creating personal narratives. In the
previous paragraphs the tools and materials these two parties
have at their disposal were presented.
27

34. Bruner states in Acts of Meaning (1990) that the function of the
cognitive structure human beings is ‘interpretive of “life in
action”.’ He continues by saying that it is then ‘a very complex
form of what C. S. Peirce long ago called the “interpretant”, a
symbolic schema for mediating between sign and ”world”. This
link between Bruner and Peirce is an important one. When
looking at the features, Bruner describes narrative as a complex
Peircean sign. An interpretant, a sender and objects construct this
sign. The interpretant, according to Bruner, mediates between
the sign and the world, between the narrative and reality. In a
museum it is the visitor who fulfils this role. The visitors create
links between the exhibition and their lives outside of the
museological setting. Other features are descriptive for the role
of the sender and the objects. Genericness is a feature that is
related to the objects and the order in which they are placed. The
sender, who in this case is the museum, applies the normativeness.
In the chapters three, four and five, Bruner’s features will be
applied on the three case studies. The roles of the different
parties that aid in the creation of a narrative shall be addressed
there too, for perhaps not all features are always distributed in
the same way.
28

35. 2 CASE STUDY DESCRIPTION
The case studies that have been selected are: the Railway
Museum, the Aboriginal Art Museum and the Utrecht Archive.
All three museums are relatively new. The Aboriginal Art
Museum opened in March 2001, the Railway Museum reopened
its doors in 2005 and the Utrecht Archive exhibition has now been
presented for three years. This chapter will provide the reader
with a textual and visual representation of these case studies.
2.1 ABORIGINAL ART MUSEUM
The Aboriginal Art Museum shows both a temporary and a
permanent collection of Aboriginal art. Aboriginal art is
contemporary art, made by Aboriginal communities in Australia.
The aboriginals produce this contemporary art form for the
Western market. The first examples of modern Aboriginal art date
back to the beginning of the 1970’s. It became a new way of
communicating the traditions. The language of abstract shapes
used in these works, is a mixture of Western and Aboriginal
symbolism. By selling these products to the West, Aboriginal
communities gain the income to maintain their traditions.
The current exhibition at the Aboriginal Art Museum is called: Be
my guest. For the 10-year anniversary of the museum, ten guest
curators were invited to select two artworks: one work by an
Aboriginal artist and another work by a contemporary artist with
a different background. With this exhibition, the museum aims to
show that Aboriginal art is not merely anthropological, but a full-
29

36. fledged contemporary art form. The exhibition also shows the
parallels between cultures and art forms.34
The following media are used in combination with the works of
art. Each guest curator has produced an article on their own part
of the exhibit, the two works each picked. This article is published
in the catalogue of the exhibition. Each dialogue between art
works is accompanied by several texts on room sheets. These texts
include the article by the guest curator as well as general
information on the artists on display. In addition, the visitor
receives a small booklet when entering the museum. This booklet
shows the floor plan (fig. 5) and a concise, one page text, about
the choices of each curator. Short interviews shown are shown on
a TV screen. This allows the curators to explain the choices they
have made. One can find this television screen next to the pair of
works in room no. 8 on the floor plan (fig. 5). Last but not least,
the visitor can purchase an audio tour. Each section, or each
curator, is accompanied by one, two and sometimes three entries
on the tour. The entries are all between one and two minutes long
and two entries feature introductory music (no. 4 and 10 on the
exhibition plan in fig. 5).
34
These two aims were expressed by the curator of the Aboriginal Art Museum
th
Georges Petitjean in an interview on October 5 2011
30

37. Fig. 5
Floor plan of the Be My
Guest exhibition
(Aboriginal Art Museum)
The routing of the exhibition is made clear by the numbering on
the floor plan. After buying a ticket, the visitors are encouraged to
visit the second floor first. This floor shows the permanent
exhibition. This collection contextualizes the temporary
exhibition. One can also choose an alternative routing through the
exhibition, because each segment of the narrative on display, each
dialogue between artworks, is shown in a separate space and can
be appreciated without knowledge of the other segments. Each
segment features the same contextualization of audio tour,
interview and written text. Two segments have been selected to
showcase the relationship between the media used.
31

38. The first dialogue that will be described is by guest curator Maria
Roosen and is indicated as no. 4 on the floor plan (fig. 5). Roosen
has selected an Aboriginal object that is called an Ilma (fig. 6).
Ilma’s are rare, ritual objects, used in dance ceremonies. Roy
Wiggan is a Bardi elder, a community situated in the Kimberley
region in Western Australia. Wiggan still produces ilma’s, a craft
that was passed on to him by his ancestors. This highly traditional
Aboriginal object is brought in relation with a modern Dutch
carpet by Hester Oerlemans (fig. 7). The symbols on the carpet are
icons used on computers. These are multiplied and organised in
abstract shapes. Take for example the on/off icons in the right
bottom corner of the picture in figure 9. These four orange
symbols are arranged in a way that creates a new shape, a sort of
formalised flower with four petals.
Fig. 6 (left)
Ilma (1997) by Roy Wiggan
Fig. 7 (right)
Draft for a work called The
Magic Carpet (2011) by
Hester Oerlemans
The article in the catalogue points out that Roossen connects these
two works through several relations. Oerlemans is a craftsman
who makes her work in public places. Apart from this parallel in
the process of making art, both works deal with communication35.
35
Aboriginal Art Museum (2011), p. 40
32

39. Aboriginal art is known to communicate in different layers.
Although we can see the physical representation of symbols, and
we sometimes know what these symbols mean separately, the
arrangement of symbols tells a specific story. This story is hidden
between the ‘words’ so to speak. This same quality is present in
Oerlemans’ work. By arranging the symbols in this way, their
meaning becomes more than the sum of its parts.
The communication surrounding these two objects is layered as
well. The audio tour adds a soundtrack into the mix. This
soundtrack is by Kraftwerk, a techno pop band that relates to the
computer language on the carpet. The audio tour continues with a
general introduction to the two works of art on display. The
narrator tells us that Oerlemans recognizes the relation between
her work and the Aboriginal work as well, and that she is
considering a donation of the carpet to an Aboriginal community.
This view by Oerlemans is only expressed on the audio tour. The
texts do not mention her opinion, only her work. However, the
catalogues article quotes Maria Roossen. Each text surrounding
the object expresses new clues about the works of art, the artists
and the curator who picked them. Each text overlaps the other,
but shares information from other points of view.
The other dialogue addressed here is indicated by no. 7 (fig 5).
Aboriginals have a spiritual connection with their surroundings.
Each year they travel the same routes and carry out the same
rituals. This connection to the land is also present in the musical
culture. So-called songlines are ritual songs that translate the
physical journey in song lyrics. In the exhibition a recording of a
songline is played. Its sounds increase while approaching the
alcove labelled no. 7. In the no. 7 photography is shown on the
wall. Pictures of Utrecht are combined with pictures of Australian
33

40. landscapes and Aboriginal people. The songline is the Aboriginal
work. But what dialogue is being expressed here? The curator of
this part of the exhibition is Arjan Dunnewind, the general
director at Impakt, a Media Arts Organisation. Multimedia artists
Marc Tuters and Ricarda Franzen have made a ritualised tour
through the centre of Utrecht using GPS technology. Visitors are
stimulated to download an app on their smartphone and continue
their visit outside the museum walls. The app guides them to
places with special meaning to inhabitants of Utrecht. The locals
share their memories through recordings and the visitor
encounters visual clues along the way. During the tour the visitor
uses all his senses and really experiences the environment that is
discussed on the recordings. As the software knows the GPS
location of the visitor, it can offer the right content at the right
time. The visitors do not have to start the audio clips themselves.
By participating in this new media artwork the visitors are able to
experience their environment in a symbolic way, like the
aboriginals do in their songlines.
The narrative concept of this exhibition revolves around the
artworks, the objects on display. When we enter the museum
space this is what we focus on. The artworks are hung in a
meaningful way. This is what Sandberg called a functional way of
hanging. Although the art can tell the stories on its own, extra
information is added. All texts are an addition to the narrativity
of the space and objects. The visitor can access this information in
the surroundings of the artwork. After the exhibition the visitor
can take a part of this information home as well, by buying the
catalogue.
34

41. 2.2 UTRECHT ARCHIVE
The Utrecht Archive shows a temporary and a permanent
exhibition. The analysis given here is about the permanent
exhibition. There are two narratives that are told in the archive.
The first narrative is about the building. The old walls of the
monastery that once stood there, called St. Paul’s Abbey, have
been uncovered. And the usage as a court of law is shown in the
prison cells that are shown. The second narrative uncovers how
visitors are able to use the archive. By gathering archive material
and making a newspaper, visitors get an idea of what it’s like to
research documents. These two narratives are mixed together. In
the next paragraphs the different story elements will be discussed.
Fig. 8 (left)
Floor plan of the ground
floor at the Utrecht
Archive
Fig. 9 (right)
Floor plan of the
basement at the Utrecht
Archive
The story starts in front of a glass wall in the entrance hall. This
wall encapsulates four screens, each in combination with a camera
and a scanner (fig. 10). The scanner is for the barcode on the
museum ticket. This barcode is the key to the visitor account. The
visitor smiles to the camera, enters name and email address and is
off to discover the archive.
35

42. Fig. 10
Starting point of the
Utrecht Archive exhibition
The first room on the right (indicated in dark blue on the map in
fig. 8) is the temporary exhibition room. Continuing down the hall
the visitor encounters the Auditorium. (Indicated in orange on the
map in fig. 8) The auditorium was used, as a refectory when it was
still in use as the St. Paul’s Abbey. One of the entrances to this
dining hall is still in situ (fig. 11). The room has a more theatrical
purpose now. Two films are on show here. In a rapid sequence,
the first film shows inhabitants of Utrecht throughout 200 years of
history. The second film is presented every whole hour and
explains the history of the building. A narrator tells the story. He
focuses on stories that give an idea of who wandered through
these halls tells the story. It also shows how law changes when
governments change. For example in the Second World War the
Germans spoke law here too. An interesting fact is that during
those years of war the resistance occupied the basements.
36

43. Fig. 11
Auditorium of the Utrecht
Archive exhibition
The basement is where the visitor is going next. The first room
downstairs is called ‘Moments’ (fig. 12). The room is rather dark.
Within a large glass casing in the centre of the room, objects and
projections are on show. But what are these objects? And who are
the people that are projected?
Fig. 12
‘Moments’ at the Utrecht
Archive exhibition
Surrounding the glass casing are computers with scanner for the
barcode on the entrance ticket. By scanning the ticket, the visitor
37

44. gains access to their personal account. Now it is time to browse.
The screen shows a ring with two names on it. By clicking on a
name the visitor opens a document. The historical person in
question pops up on the screen and tells something about the
moment in history he or she was part of. After this introduction by
the character it is possible to flip through the file by clicking on the
tabs for information on ‘the whom’, ‘the what’, ‘the where’, ‘the
when’ and on what happened elsewhere. There are sixteen files in
total. Each document in each file can be stored on the visitor
account. These files will be put to use later.
This room also forms the entrance for a different storyline: the
wine cellar. The wine cellar is a narrow passage that opens u in a
larger space (see fig. 13). Stepping onto the stairs going down a
voice calls out. It is the ghost of a monk who once worked in the
cellar, projected on a screen. He tells us anecdotes about how
some of the monks were not as celibately as they pretended to be.
The visitor exits the cellar by continuing down the stairs. This
route leads directly back to the room that shows moments in the
history of Utrecht. After browsing through the files and meeting
the ghost the visitor continues the basement hallway.
38

45. Fig. 13
Wine cellar at the Utrecht
Archive exhibition
In this hallway street names are shown on touch screens on a wall
on the far end of the hall (fig. 14). Pressing a name activates an old
picture of that particular street that merges into a current picture
taken from the same spot. The exhibition continues behind a set of
doors on the left side of the hall.
Fig. 14
Interactive wall with street
names at the Utrecht
Archive exhibition
Behind the doors is an explanatory text on the wall. It introduces
the next part of the exhibition: the prison cells. These are four
small rooms with thick doors to close them. Each cell has its own
39

46. theme. Two of these themes will be addressed here. The first cell
shows pictures of couples on the wall. It is a white wedding
chapel with a TV screens as its centre piece. The words ‘just
married’ are illuminated above the screen (see fig. 15 and 16). It is
possible to press four buttons. The judge on the television explains
that one of the things people used the court for, was to get a
divorce. The visitor gets to pick a couple and decide if they are still
together or divorced. The judge than tells the couple’s story. The
final cell is very dark we see five small screens that show close-ups
of a prisoner. A young boy explains how he ended up in his cell.
The visitor has a very direct connection to this story because of the
surroundings. Imagine what it’s like to be locked up like this boy.
This cell triggers a very physical experience.
Fig. 15 (left)
‘Just married’ cell at the
Utrecht Archive exhibition
Fig. 16 (right)
Detail of the ‘Just Married’
cell at the Utrecht Archive
exhibition
The room at the end of this hall is called ‘encounters’ and is
dedicated to all sorts of people that use the archive in this day and
age. The three showrooms this room contains generate its settings
(fig. 17 for an example of a show room). Each showroom has a TV
as the centre point. On these screens, three couples explain how
they made use of the archive and how they went about to find that
information. For example, one couple has traced back information
40

47. about their house to renovate it in a more accurate historical way.
Another used it to look up information on Morocco.
Fig. 17
Showroom in the
‘Encounters’ section of the
Utrecht Archive exhibition
The final three rooms in the basement are all connected to each
other. They are located at the opposite side of the hallway. The
entrance is right across from the first cell. This room is full of large
touch screens with scanners on the right side of each of them. This
is the hub of the exhibition, where newspapers are made. On
either side of this room is a film room. The film room on the right
side shows a boat on the Vecht (fig. 18). The Vecht is Dutch branch
of the Rhine that meanders through the province of Utrecht. This
boat stops when the visitor presses a button. These stops show
short clips, which give an insight of the surroundings of Utrecht
and its current and historical inhabitants. One of the stops is
Zuylen Castle, home to the famous 18th century female writer,
Belle van Zuylen. Her story is shown and told by a narrator who
sometimes uses sentences Belle herself has written down. The film
room on the other side is a theatre. The visitor can select sixteen
41

48. different film clips that are part of the collection of the archive.
And which show Utrecht in black and white moving images.
Fig. 18
Boat trip at the Utrecht
Archive exhibition
.
But the central room is the “moment supreme” of the visit. A
search engine is installed on the computers in the middle of the
room. These engines can be used to track down more information
on a variety of themes. One of these themes is the big storm that
Utrecht endured in 1674. Information regarding this topic can be
stored on the visitor account. When the visitor has collected all the
data, it’s time to select the items for the newspaper. The program
generates a newspaper format and places the selected data in this
format. By pressing the publish button in the top-right corner, the
paper is sent to the visitor’s email address. The visitor can also
choose to print the newspaper A3 size at the service desk of the
museum.
42

49. Fig. 19
Newspaper room at the
Utrecht Archive exhibition
2.3 RAILWAY MUSEUM
The slogan of the Railway museum expresses the aim of the
museum well: ‘The Railway Museum, something to experience’. In the
Master plan for the renovation in 2001 the museum specified its
aim as follows:
‘The Dutch Railway Museum is an attraction based on authenticity,
that offers the Modern consumer, education in the form of
entertainment on the topic of Railway history in general and the Dutch
situation specifically.’36
The layout of the map of the museum is in line with the aim (fig.
20). It looks like something handed out in a theme park. And just
like in a theme park different worlds are specified on it.
36
Meurs (2006), p.7
43

50. Fig. 20
Floor plan of the Railway
Museum
The visitor enters the museum through the former Maliebaan
Train Station. This old station is very atmospheric. Although the
station is freshly painted and is modernized, its decor still takes
the visitor back in time (fig. 21 and 22). The first and second-class
waiting rooms now function as a museum restaurant. In the
hallway old trunks and suitcases are piled up.37 Having explored
this area the visitor continues onto the train platform outside (fig.
23). An old royal train is displayed on the tracks. To enter the
main building the visitor walks around the train and crosses two
pairs of tracks. One track is for the old royal train and the other
track is for the modern shuttle train. This shuttle service takes
visitors from Utrecht Central station to the museum and back.
37
When peaking inside of these trunks the visitor sees small, filmic projections.
44

51. Fig. 21
Front entrance of the
Railway museum: the old
Maliebaan Train Station
Fig. 22 (left)
Decor of the former
Maliebaan Train Station
Fig. 23 (right)
Clock at the platform of
the former Maliebaan
Train Station
After showing the tickets at the main building visitors can start
their explorations. The first intake is slightly overwhelming: large,
old trains on the left, a cafe opposite of the entrance, and visitors
everywhere including on the bridges in-between worlds that give
access to the rooms on the second floor. Where to start? Probably,
most visitors will begin at world one, indicated by a large number
one on the corners of a grey building next to the cafe. While
standing in line for world one, headphones and locative media
devices are handed out. Visitors enter the world in groups of ten.
This is the amount of people that fits in the elevator that will lead
45

52. back in time to the 1800’s. The man on the audio tour speaks
Dutch with an English accent and introduces himself as John
Middlemiss. When we exit the elevator we are in English mine
shaft that leads into a mining village. Middlemiss explains that
this is where it all started. This is where the steam engine was
invented. Middlemiss explains how it works. After this he tells us
that he went to the Netherlands to ride the first Dutch steam
engine train called De Arendt (fig. 24). Because it was the first train
there were no Dutchmen who knew how to drive it. This
locomotive is the most prized object in the museum. It is the
centrepiece of world one, a theatrical setting (fig. 25) in which the
visitor plays a part as well. The narrator directly cues the visitor
by expressions such as: ‘Hey, hold on a minute’ and ‘I’ll see you
down at the party just down this street’. After viewing the train,
the visitor exits world one. The visitor needs to go through several
hallways with 19th century paintings of trains on the walls, to
reach the exit.
Fig. 24
‘De Arendt’ the centre
piece of world 1 of the
Railway Museum
46

53. Fig. 25
Dutch village scenery in
world 1 of the Railway
Museum
World one is dedicated to the train itself. World two however,
shares a different perspective: that of the traveller. World two is a
theatre with three different performance areas: the platform, the
train and the theatre (fig. 26 and 27). There are six different plays
on show. All these shows are somehow connected to the luxurious
Orient Express. The timetable for these performances is shown on
a digital screen in front of the cafe. Most visitors will only pick one
play during their visit. In order to give the reader an idea of what
an experience in world two is like, the performance of Collette and
Fifi will be described here.
The plot of the performance is as follows. Collette is a cancan
dancer who was recruited by a captain to spy for the British
government. She must retrieve secret papers from someone
aboard the Orient Express. Her pink poodle Fifi helps her on this
quest. During the performance Collette seeks assistance in the
audience. Two children are asked to sit behind the control panels
on either side of the stage. By pushing the buttons, turning the
wheels and pulling the handles, these kids manage the decor on
47

54. stage. The performance is mainly aimed at children between the
age of four and twelve.
Fig. 26
Platform between trains
at world 2 of the Railway
Museum
Fig. 27
Theatre at world 2 of the
Railway Museum
World three shows the perspective of railway personnel. The line
is in a wooden room, filled with model trains and other railway
memorabilia. It turns out that we are in someone’s attic, someone
who has worked for the railways for his entire life. Previous
generations of his family have been in the trade as well. His
grandson Hans is interviewing him for a school paper on Dutch
48

55. railway history. The dummies representing them are seated in the
attic (fig. 28), in-between the queue. While waiting we listen to the
grandfather sharing his stories. Some of the stories correspond
with objects in the room. An example of this is when the
grandfather talks about the 1939 celebration when the Dutch
railway was a 100 years old. In the attic we see objects with 1939
on it. These memorabilia bring the story to life. But world 3 is not
this popular amongst kids because of Hans’ grandfather. It is the
ride that makes this an attraction. In a cart that seats four people
the visitor discovers the world of ‘steal monsters’ (fig. 30).
Dummies represent the labourers cleaning the trains and working
the signposts. The driver of a passing train waves at us and there
is a party celebration for two members of staff who have been in
service for 60 years (fig. 29).
Fig. 28 (left)
Dummies of Hans and his
grandfather at world 3 of
the Railway Museum
Fig. 29 (right)
60 year anniversary at the
Railway celebration’ at
world 3 of the Railway
Museum
49

56. Fig. 30
Cart passing one of the
‘steal monsters’ at world 3
of the Railway Museum
The last World changes continuously. World four consists of five
tracks on which several trains are displayed (fig. 31). Visitors can
get more information on these trains from museum staff giving
tours on the platforms. At the moment there is also an exhibition
on safety on the tracks (fig. 32). This exhibition is incorporated in
world 4. Bright yellow poles give information. These info kiosks
tell stories through small TV screens, audio fragments, games and
text (fig. 33).
Fig. 31
World 4 of the Railway
Museum
50

57. Fig. 32 (left)
Exhibition on safety on the
tracks, currently on show
at world 4 of the Railway
Museum
Fig. 33 (right)
Visitors enjoying the
exhibition on safety on the
tracks, currently on show
at world 4 of the Railway
Museum
The four worlds are indicated on the map in orange (fig. 20). But
the green areas also contain art, model trains, rooms with
requisites and more, too much to describe here. Therefore one of
the green areas has been selected: the outside area. The outside
area is a playground for the younger children (fig. 34). It is a place
to relax. It shows some more authentic material on the tracks (fig.
35), but there is no more information.
Fig. 34
Playground at outside
area of the Railway
Museum
51

58. Fig. 35
Historic material at the
outside area of the
Railway Museum
52

59. 3 CASE STUDY ANALYSES
Bruners ten narrative features mentioned in chapter one will
now be applied to three case studies. These features will be
applied to the three case studies in this chapter. Bruner delivers
his features in the form of a list, which might give the
impressioncause the idea that all features are equal to one
another. However, this view limits their functionality. For
instance, when studying the feature particularity38 in a case study,
it is possible to point out examples of particular elements of that
specific narrative but it is still impossible to show the value of
this feature in relation to another feature such as narrative
accrual39. By structuring the features, the outcome of the
analytical process presented in this chapter, can be explained in a
more meaningful way.
After reviewing Bruner’s ten narrative features, we can sort them
by their function. A feature can either descibe a part of the
content of a narrative, have a structural role or describe a process
that takes place between the reader and the writer of a given
narrative. These three roles of Bruner’s features all play their part
in what is essentially: the narrative (visualized in fig. 36). The
narrative body consists of the structural features and the content
features. A narrative cannot exist without one or the other. The
arrows in the visualization (fig. 36) show the processes of
creating, consuming and adding to the narrative content and
structure. When sharing a story the content and structure that the
writer has imposed on the narrative change slightly at the hands
38
The concept particularity was introduced and explained on p. 25
39
The concept narrative accrual was introduced and explained on p. 26
53

60. of the reader. The personal interpretation of a reader becomes
part of the narrative.
Narrative processes
Writer
Reader
Content
Narrative:
Structure
Fig. 36
Visualization of the three
narrative elements
The model presented above (fig. 36) categorizes Bruner’s features
in the following three clusters: structural features, content features
and narrative processes. Thise visualization also shows the
relationship between these categories. Bruner labels the
structural elements as follows: diachronicity, canonicity breach
and genericness.40 This structural form cannot be expressed
without content. And so the second group of features, are the
content related features. This group contains the intentional state
entailment, the norm, the particularity and the referentiality.41
Ultimately, Bruner also argues that narrativity is not merely the
narrative itself. A narrative is always part of a communication
40
For an introduction on diachronicity and genericness see p. 24, and for canonicity
breach p. 25.
41
For an introduction on intentional state entailment see p. 24, for particularity,
normativeness and referentiality p. 25.
54

61. process between a writer and a reader. Bruner captures this
communicative layer by adding the last three features to his
theory, which he labels: hermeneutic composability, narrative
accrual and context sensitivity negotiability.42
3.1 Narrative structure
The narrative structure of a museum space can be analysed by
watching the visitors move through it. While the previous
chapter gives a description of the routing through each of the
case studies, this section presents the structure underlying the
exhibits, on the basis of those descriptions. This introduction to
the section focuses on the general spatial structure, the space
syntax, of each case study. After this general introduction,
Bruner’s three structural features, diachronicity, Canonicity
breach and genericness are applied to each of the case studies.
Georges Petitjean, the head curator of the Be My Guest exhibition
at the Aboriginal Art Museum, has divided the museum space
into ten separate sections. Although some of these sections are in
an open plan environment, there are clear markers that indicate
the beginning of one section and the ending of another. This is
done by using separation walls, by using the differences in level
and by clustering objects together. In the Utrecht Archive the
exhibition rooms all have a different theme or function. A visitor
follows the hallway and enters each of the rooms. Within a room
objects and information are clustered together. Each cluster
42
For an introduction on hermeneutic composability see p. 24, for narrative accrual
and context sensitivity negotiability see p. 26.
55

62. represents a deliniated part of the plot, or in narrative terms: a
sub plot. At the Railway Museum visitors are less obliged to
follow a route, although the different worlds are numbered.
Each world is a separate space with a separate atmosphere.
Objects are not clustered but placed, in order to represent reality.
Diachronicity The timeline, or diachronicity, at the Aboriginal Art Museum is
determined by the amount of time one stands before each of the
art dialogues. And this time span can increase by the number of
resources the visitor uses. By using the audio guide and
exhibition texts the visitor is able to elongate the time span of
each experience. The diachronicity is determined by the amount
of detail in the explanation. By using this method, the museum
places this feature in the hands of the visitor.
The Utrecht Archive uses another method to structure time. It
gives the visitor a spatial trail to follow. This trail has certain
stops. During these stops the visitor experiences audio visual
footage or gathers archive material at their own discretion. The
time span of the footage and the amount of material determines
the length of the stop. Although the visitor is able to forego a
stop and certain shortcuts are possible, this exhibition does not
allow the visitor to determine the diachronicity of the narrative
space. The visitor needs to follow the spatial trail to conclude the
story by making a newspaper.43
In the Railway Museum the timeline is also structured by spatial
elements. Each spatial area has a certain size and a contains
43
The newspaper is compiled out of achive material the visitor has selected and is
made during the visit. The paper can be printed or emailed. For a more detailed
description see p. 41.
56

63. certain amount of objects. This determines how long one can
stop and linger. Some areas are so big it is impossible to see
everything. This gives of a strong incentive to visit the museum
again. World two and three also have a more pressing time
frame. The theatre performances in world two have a certain
duration and so does the ride in world three. But in all the other
spaces, visitors are able to wander about
Canonicity
The feature of canonicity breach at the Aboriginal Art Museum
Breach can be considered to be the main theme of the exhibition. Each
time an aboriginal artwork forms the canon it is contrasted with a
breach in the form of another contemporary artwork. The canon
clashes with the breach during each dialogue. The breach is
visualized instead of verbalized in this narrative space.
At the Utrecht archive the canon and breach are spatially
determined as well. Each space creates a canon for the next space.
And each time we enter the next space we experience a change
in state. Perhaps this breach of a canon is most clear when
entering the cells. Each cell is so specific, so different from the
neutral hallway space, that the visitor really experiences this
clash between then and now. These breaches are created by
isolating the spaces, using contrasts in lighting and using
contrasts in the themes on display.
At the Railway Musuem the canon and breach are spatially
marked in a clear way. Each world creates a canon that contrasts
with the other worlds. By moving from one world to another the
visitor experiences a breach. The breaches in the Railway Museum
resemble those at the Utrecht Archive. By setting the scene in a
57

64. different way and by using themes the worlds compliment and
contrast one another.
Genericness Genericness was also mentioned as a structuring element in the
introduction to this chapter. This element structures the outline
of the narrative being told. An example of a generic narrative
type is the love story. A love story usually contains a description
of how the two main characters meet or have met and how they
feel about each other initially. After this initial setting something
happens to trigger the spark between them. This spark contrasts
with their previous view on the relationship between them. At
the end of the story the contrasts are resolved and the main
characters find their happy ever after. These generic elements to
a story create the format for each story type.
In the Aboriginal Art Museum the generic format can be
described as repetitions of contrasts. Each section in the
exhibition uses this format. It enables the visitor to compare two
distinctly different works. By comparing the works in each
section, the visitor unravels the story. Therefore this generic
format can be identified as the comparison.
The Utrecht Archive takes another approach on genericness.
Each section covers a certain theme. Some of the rooms are
dedicated to the archive itself while other rooms explain about
different periods and functions of the building. This thematically
generic narrative can cover a wide array of relations. Themes can
be by the same artist, in the same period, from the same
geographic location and so on.
58