Similar to the other reading, Stern’s introduction also allowed me to deconstruct interactive art and the roles of the artist and viewer. Even though this is just the introduction, I really found Stern’s attempts to breakdown the ‘body’ as a tool to engage with interactive art interesting. His use of the phrase “moving-thinking-feeling” that bodies must do when engaging with interactive art is helpful to think about as an artist. Although it seems obvious that these are the fundamentals of how a person might interact with interactive art, I think I will force myself to think of my projects and how I can create an effective feedback loop between the person and the artwork at every step.
I think that another interesting thing that I gathered from these two readings, but especially from this one, is how varied these interactions can be. A question that Stern asks that really interests me is “How might the body- as a process and event- and its potential disruption or resistance, be attendant, provoked, and contextualized in interactive art?” While this does not necessarily provide me with any concrete ideas to put to use, it does show me how much can be explored through interactive art and the numerous ways the body can be used to create effective interactions and experiences.