Memoria e rappresentazione del fuoco nei sistemi multimediali

Fire, both mythological and real, a force of destruction and of regeneration, a symbol of purification as well as of eternal damnation has, since ancient times, featured prominently in art, music and literature. This paper analyses interpretations of fire in contemporary art, and particularly in installation artworks, by presenting a selection of devices and performances with different goals (educational, symbolic or aesthetic), that offer an interactive and fun approach to the works thanks to their evocative and experience-based power. These devices are not intended to replace traditional communication methods, and have the added value of stimulating the audience’s perceptive sense and of promoting dialogue on their meanings. In this way, not only do they preserve the memory of fire, but also of its principle innate feature: dynamism.