Museum space in real and virtual communicative fields: facets of perception

The aim of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the characteristics of real and virtual museum communication spaces in terms of their perception by museum visitors against the background of the growing pace of digitalization and the development of distant museum activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The materials were the results of research by Russian scholars related to the study of non-verbal communication, virtual museums, and related communicative museum channels. The methodology of studying the museum communicative space (E. Hooper-Greenhill, G.M. Gnezdovsky), the concept of capital forms by P. Bourdieu, and concepts created by theorists of information technology (M. Castells, I. Manovich) are used. The methodological foundations of communication within the framework of a real museum exposition, as well as the methodology of a virtual museum environment, have been studied in detail. The main communication characteristics of virtual museums and the technological capabilities of “augmented reality” as means of modeling expositions and exhibits are investigated. The benefits of using these telecommunications tools in the work of the museum have been determined, including against the background of the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The limitations associated with the use of virtual museum communication technologies are identified. The fact is emphasized that the device used in virtual communication is a mediating factor that largely limits the perception of a museum item. The process of museum communication in the space of actual museum reality is considered; the influence of the interior space of the museum and of the appearance of the museum building on the perception of museum collections is noted. Various aspects of non-verbal communication of visitors taking place in the space of a real museum exhibition are analyzed. It has been established that the non-verbal communicative context of visiting the museum is the environmental factors perceived by various senses. It is noted that in the real museum communication, intangible forms of capital are transferred. The communicative characteristics of a real museum exposition and the virtual representation of museum items are compared. It is concluded that museum communication in real conditions is more effective than the perception of virtual models. The author emphasizes that the peculiarities of museum communication in real conditions play the role of identifying markers of an individual’s involvement in the continuity of the historical process, creating a sense of belonging to the past and present in the visitor.