What is interaction? It’s never a strange word to us, but it seems that we haven’t arrived at its essence either. A lot of people, including myself in the past, regard interaction as a concept similar to communication. At IMA, however, at least this word has other meanings. (Of course! The interaction lab and the communication lab are different courses.) The process of interaction is about statement and response, both relied on independent thinking and the participant’s own imagination. As Tigoe mentioned in Making Interactive Art: Set The Stage, Then Shut Up And Listen，“Your task in designing an interactive artwork is to give your audience the basic context, then get out of their way. (1)” The meaning Tigoe wanted to highlight here is that interaction relies on kind of spontaneous output and input, which is also the underlying difference between communication. In the concept of interaction, especially interactive media arts, everyone would have an exclusive connection towards even the same project, and our understanding of the project doesn’t have to be restricted by the creator’s original idea. It’s a form of new media where everyone can display their own ideas and at the same time take in other’s insights, without any limits. This is what makes the concept “interaction” unique.
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