Mediating the Sublime: Immersive Encounters with Goya and Munch

Abstract

Contributing to ongoing debates surrounding immersive experiences in museums, this essay proposes the aesthetic category of the sublime as a productive framework for immersive mediation and exhibition-making. How can immersive mediation be conceived to reconcile the experiential qualities of immersion with the often challenging demands of meaning-making and ethical reflection? The potential of the sublime to address this challenge is explored through the example of the art exhibition Goya and Munch: Modern Prophecies (MUNCH, 2023-24). Drawing on a wide range of materials, I examine specific aspects of the sublime relevant to the development of the exhibition’s mediation. These include the sublime’s excessiveness, unpresentability, ethical dimension, and close ties to the ridiculous.