O silêncio dos inocentes: o papel dos animais em narrativas expositivas

Abstract

Animals are polysemic entities that became objects of museums as early collections have emerged. For this study, the animal is understood as interface between two areas: as cientific object of zoology stydies and as musealia. We discuss then the communication functions performed by animals in contemporaneous exhibitions of natural history museums. Therefore, it was described and analyzed in three exhibitions of South American natural history museums: Las aves - Museo de Ciencias Naturales Bernadino Rivadavia; “Tiempo y materia: laberintos de la evolución” - Museo de La Plata; e “Conchas, corais e borboletas” - Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. Our analysis suggests that theoretical construction of the narratives is restricted to texts and animals lend their structures for illustration, serving as evidence of reality and providing materiality for the theory, restricted to its aesthetic appeal, three-dimensionality and capacity of public attraction.