The Exhibitionary Complex

Modern civil society was formed under the condition of a new perspective of the state on the citizen. Last but not least, the execution of power played a role in this context. “Negative power” (revenge, execution, torture) was to be transformed into “positive power” (code of law, control).After important construction tasks such as the prison had undergone a reorientation, more emphasis was placed on other forms of communication and representation of national power. This included the opening museums and exhibitions to all strata of the society. In the book “The Birth of the Museum”, sociologist Tony Bennett formulates the theoretical model of the “Exhibitionary Complex” against the background of Michel Foucault’s “Punishment and Surveillance”.