Cabinets of Curiosities as a Transhistorical and Intermedial Phenomenon

Cabinets of curiosities are considered to be a projection of one’s thinking about oneself, one’s origin, and one’s place in the world. The variety of gathered objects emphasized the significance, power, and intellectual abilities of the collector, and highlighted the smooth transition from nature to culture as well as the gradual evolution of modern science from the second half of the sixteenth century onward. The attempts to organize the cabinet and systematize the collected items according to their distinctive features correspond with Lars Elleström’s model for understanding intermedial relations. Drawing from this analogy, the chapter presents the intermedial cabinet of curiosities as a qualified media type, distinguishing its modalities and discussing its qualifying aspects. It approaches the historical cabinet of curiosities as a complex media product which combines and unifies the elements of chemical laboratories, zoos, art galleries, and museums. The chapter also provides examples of more contemporary cabinets in order to problematize further their intermedial character. Contemporary cabinets of curiosities – individual artworks, buildings and gardens housing entire collections, books, film settings or themes, online tools, and social media – can be considered as equally elaborate media products as their historical predecessors. The chapter highlights interrelations and interactions between the original cabinet of curiosities and its various contemporary realizations. Despite the change in media type, all cabinets still convey the image of the world and communicate the state of knowledge of a particular era and a specific “collector.”