
Documentary Palaces
While the visualization of (scientific) data and information has become a well-developed part of any graphic and media designer’s repertoire, the design of a comprehensible documentation and representation of a whole field of knowledge is often the result of individual and complex standalone solutions. That is why a semester course at the Merz Akademie hosted by Joost Bottema, Mario Doulis, and Jörg Frohnmayer focused on this aspect. Like in the project Re-shaping nature, the art students worked, once again, with data from the CASCB and the MPI AB. This time, Blair Costelloe shared her knowledge and research data from her Herd Hover project. The project results were displayed in the exhibition Herds & Hovering at the University of Konstanz.

Goal and Approach of the Project
The goal was to develop artistic approaches for the design of knowledge spaces within the field of animal behaviour science. Besides the visualization of the related scientific data and documents, the course leaders and students curated the arrangement of the content, revealing the “big picture” and/or a unique substory line. The title “Documentary Palaces” refers to the terms “documentary theatre” (using pre-existing material as source material for stories about real events) and “memory palace” (a memory enhancement strategy using visualizations of familiar spatial environments to enhance the recall of information) which serve as the design base for this project.
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“I have really enjoyed the collaboration with the Merz Akademie and been impressed by the creativity and professionalism of the students,” says Blair Costelloe. “It has been very gratifying to share my work with this group and see my project anew through their eyes. Our meetings have sparked fascinating discussions on diverse topics, including the ethics of developing novel data collection methods, the emotional experiences of animals, and what we can and cannot learn about our own species from observing animal behaviour. I am happy that my research has been able to inspire such interesting projects and hope that the projects in turn inspire others to explore the overlap between science and art.”
Project Results
The project started with a kick-off visit at the CASCB in Konstanz and the MPI AB in Möggingen in April 2022. In May, initial project outlines were discussed on a return visit to the Merz Akademie in Stuttgart. The result were exhibited on 6 July in Stuttgart, Merz Akademie and on 2 December we showed the project results in the exhibition Herds & Hovering at the University of Konstanz in the Foyer, A 5, 12-16.
Project start
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Imaging Hangar -
Visit of the Biologische Lehrsammlung at the University of Konstanz. -
Visit of the Biologische Lehrsammlung at the University of Konstanz. -
Visit of the Biologische Lehrsammlung at the University of Konstanz. -
Tour of the Imaging Barn in Möggingen. -
The Hennhouse was also not to be missed. -
Visit of MaxCine, the centre for communication and exchange at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior -
Involved People
Course leader: Prof Joost Bottema, Prof Mario Doulis and Jörg Frohnmayer, Merz Akademie
Researcher: Dr Blair Costelloe, MPI AB/CASCB
Students from Merz Akademie: Aleyna Arslan, Tim Fritzsche, Vincent Gössler, Isabel Carolin Kohlhagen, Luis Lavadinho, Normantas Matonis, Niclas Rüdiger, Marie Weilacher, Luis Weiler
Organization and communication: Dr Elisabeth Böker, Bhargav Solanki, CASCB