Page 19 - Beholding Liberty!

Beholding Liberty through unique exhibits at the Hellenic Parliament
The 200th anniversary of the 1821 Revolution is a historic landmark of honor, memory and re- flection, not only regarding the course of Greece as an independent state, but also for planning its future. The particular moment of this national anniversary has enriched local and international public discourse with significant scientific, artistic and educational contributions, in spite of the limiting conditions imposed by the current health crisis. On this map of national self-knowledge another islet has come to be added, the exhibition “Beholding Liberty! At the Hellenic Parliament, two centuries later”.
Feeling the weight of the responsibility entailed in undertaking the organization of such an em- blematic cultural event, we began planning the Exhibition a long time in advance. When we started to process our ideas and thoughts regarding the main creative concept, our common desire was for the exhibition narrative to concentrate on the following features: originality, uniqueness, a high scientific level, modern museological and museographic viewpoint, utilization of digital tools, light aesthetics, and a plain language. These principles directed our entire subsequent work in planning the exhibition content.
In close collaboration, and combining our specializations, visual and textual exhibits of high historic and artistic value were selected in order to recompose, with notional lucidity coupled with emotional depth, the concept of Freedom, the supreme offering of the Revolution in 1821, providing visitors with a privileged access to the events that led to its accomplishment.
MUSEOLOGICAL CONCEPT – THE SECTIONS OF THE EXHIBITION
Regarding the basic conceptual framework, it was almost self-evident from the beginning: the frieze in the historic former Trophies Hall (now the “Eleftherios Venizelos Hall”) on the first floor of the Par- liament Building, on which significant war and diplomatic events from 1821 to 1833 are depicted. This is a visual monument that has not been promoted per se sufficiently; a unique artistic work of the Parliament, closely linked with the history and uses of the building; a decorative intervention with weighty artistic and historic value, as the first official depiction of scenes and figures from the Strug- gle, and indeed with temporal proximity to the events portrayed (1842-43); a visual creation related to the Greek Revolution seen from the viewpoint of the Other, since it was inspired and undertaken by the Bavarian king Ludwig I, and designed by Ludwig’s court artist Ludwig Michael von Schwanthaler, also a Bavarian, a detail offered for critical analysis of early perceptions of the Struggle.
From the moment this crucial selection took place, research began in order to find related material for the visual and textual documentation of each of the 20 scenes on the frieze of the Revolution, attempting a multiple and multi-prismatic approach. The scenes that functioned as raw material are
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