This research project asked what difference could digital techniques make to the research, recovery and public display of prehistoric rock-art from the UNESCO world heritage site of Valcamonica (BS) in the southern Alps?The Cambridge led team from the Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, St Pouml;lten University of Applied Sciences and the Bauhaus University Weimar, showed that the preparation of art historical / archaeological data for public display can produce academic research insights that shed light on the nature of the art itself. Dissemination is not just an add-on, but a practice based part of the research process itself.
According to the Europa Nostra jury: "The quality of the research is highly original and we found the combination of the oldest and newest forms of human graphic art captivating. We appreciated the Prehistoric Picture Project's exploration of the boundaries between classic research and the performing arts".
This practiced based exploration came from an intedisciplinary EU funded exhibition at the Triennale (Milan) and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Cambridge). It used 3D scans created by Marcel Karnapke and Felix Trojan from the Bauhaus. The team from St Pouml;lten led by Markus Seidl and Peter Judmeier produced participatory exhibits like a touch table and Thomas Bredenfeld produced interactive panoramic spheres. Hamish Park (Photography), Mike Kren (2D animations) and Andreas Wappel(Ambient Cinema) worked with Frederick Bakeron the rock-artrs"s cinematic elements, offering a new interpretation which included movement, light and sound. This narrative understanding came together in a media opera composed by Hannes Raffeseder and narrated by Christopher Chippindale.