The visual story of a “popstar”
Maria Callas - The Exhibition is a show designed by Studio Visuale in Verona. Organized by the Rome-based company Arthemisia and curated by Massimiliano Capella, who gathered hundreds of documents and objects that belonged to the “diva” for the occasion.
If she were alive today,
Maria Callas would be a popstar
Maria Callas (1923–1977) is, in the collective imagination, synonymous
with a voice that made 20th-century history, a voice capable
of enchanting audiences all over the world. Callas embodied
the role of the absolute modern diva, alongside other female icons
of the 20th century, from Marilyn Monroe to Elizabeth Taylor and a few
others, protagonists of lives that mixed joys and drama,
triumphs and defeats, worthy of the script of a true melodrama.
Immersing visitors
in an intimate experience
Our first challenge was deciding which aspect of Maria Callas
to emphasize: a myth thanks to her artistic success,
and an icon for her private life, marked by gossip,
scandals and plot twists. In fact, an exhibition made up
of textual documents, photos, notes, love letters,
quotes and video interviews. A story told in fragments,
woven together from materials of different origins, including
objects and clothes.
Two communication registers:
style icon and social reputation
We highlighted Callas both as an icon, working with the large scale of her printed images, and as a person with a multifaceted fame. The exhibition path winds through many frames arranged on the walls, a kind of "cloud" in which all the documents on display find their place. The narrative unfolds in thematic chapters, made fluid by a flexible layout based on horizontal alignment.
Reproducing the voice of a
dramatic coloratura soprano
Audio is played only in the first two rooms
so as not to create overlapping sounds
that would horrify music lovers. In the other rooms,
listening is done through headphones, allowing for better enjoyment
and an intimate experience. Interviews and other multimedia
documents are treated the same as paper documents,
meaning framed inside display cases – equipped with mini-screens
and speakers – that let visitors see and hear
in the immediate vicinity of the "little frame".
Type design and info design:
expression, comprehension, technique
A custom typeface allowed us to simultaneously express
the power of operatic singing while avoiding strokes too thin, which would have caused application issues. Through infographics, the many pieces of information that convey the greatness of Callas's professional career were represented concisely.
Putting the dresses on display,
the fashion side of opera
Curated by Massimiliano Capella, who also curated the Barbie exhibition
and teaches the History of Costume and Fashion, the curation aimed to highlight
Callas's need to also be a model of elegance.
Her long relationship with designers (Biki, Dior, Saint-Laurent) thus made
her wardrobe an exhibit in its own right.
