Author: ka2154

Both of the readings for this section deal with the philosophy and origin of Interactive artwork. In a way, they both explain that interactive artwork lies somewhere between a defined concept (a piece of physical artwork or instillation in which viewers use their physical bodies to interact with and discover), and simultaneously an ambiguous and open-ended philosophy that can be used to create interactions. That being said, there were a couple of definitions or concepts within this that caught my intention, either because they relate to interactive media work I have done, or made me think about interactive processes in a new way. 

1. “Interactive artwork, which, by definition, is unfinished and realized only as a function of audience participation.”
   1. The text also explains Interactive artwork as a “Shift away from meaning.” I interpret this as a shift from the artist creating all meaning to creating the discoverability of meaning. In this the artist becomes not only a creator, but a curator as well. 
   2. As we talked about last semester in Intro to interactive media, the most effective interactive pieces have more than one way to be discovered. Like a ball can be kicked, thrown, rolled, or popped, an interactive piece can be versatile, and the ways to use it should be left up to the user. A good artist will think of this and thus curate the interaction to an extent where they still have control over the general meaning of the piece. Even with this foresight however, the wonderful thing is that people often find ways to interact with it that the artist didn’t imagine.
2. Artwork no longer is simply an image but integrates itself into living artwork can “be ways of living.”
   1. This opens up the ideas of what art is and can be (which I love because in a way I think just about anything manmade can be described as artwork if you qualify it as such– please excuse my dadaism).
   2. I love this sentiment because it alludes to how our modern world becomes more functionally interactive every day: from crossing lights to airport facial recognition scanners to public artworks. It reminds us that interactivity is not only valuable in certain types of artwork, but also essential to modern life. 
   3. I think that the cool thing about IM is that it may, from the perspective of the artist or one studying interactivity, cause the viewer to “embody the artwork,” but to the viewer  a work is just about living life and exploring.
3. “not to tell (like theater), but to provoke.” -Bouriaud
   1. There can be a story in interactive pieces, but usually their main purpose is rather to make viewers “feel.” I think that focusing on the “feel” of a piece in coordination with its purpose is essential to creating something that people will remember. 
4. “amplify meaning of the body”
   1.  I believe that an interactive artwork can be almost magical in the way that it consumes you, or forces you to think in new ways. Finding new ways in which to use your body is a concept that I wish to explore further, as I am still curious about what it means. I mean I can picture how an interactive exhibit may make you realize that there is a way in which your body can interact with a screen or object in new ways (think computer vision), but I think this can be explored further.

 

To start off this exercise, I spent quite a bit of time brainstorming what I would create for my midterm project. I knew a few things.

1: I wanted to physically build something

2: I wanted it to be a simple idea, with interesting outputs

3: Rather than spending my time/energy on making a complicated thing work, I want to engineer a simple process to work very reliably

This all kept bringing me back to the Screaming chair Idea that I had for the first project, Which I still love, but don’t know would be appropriate for the midterm. Maybe I could adjust that idea in some way?

Anyways whenever I tried to put together a completed project idea, I felt stuck. To combat this I actually followed this assignment and just started creating things. 

First I went in to the IM lab and just looked around for inspiration on the old junk shelves. After finding some objects that I thought demonstrated some interesting concepts, I put this together. 

The paper balls remind me of a flower opening and closing, making me think of a sort of interactive garden. I used a thin piece of sheet metal to create a lever/switch to make them do this action. This, however, felt a bit too complicated, or at least finicky. The thing about this build that I think I really learned from is about how mirrors can be used in order to widen a space or enhance visual effects. If I were to make a project using visual outputs, I would consider using mirrors.

For my Second creation, I had no Idea where to start. I had used up all of my Ideas getting to this point. So I began to doodle. I though about all sorts of processes and projects and inside jokes within IM. Not all of them even needed to be possible, but what I wanted to do is not only think about them, but make what I was thinking about into form.

I don’t know If I am any closer to having a midterm project after this, but it did help me to understand what I was thinking about.