A. The Chronus exhibition we have seen uses technology and scientific elements to express scientific or artistic thoughts. 
As the pictures show, exhibits uses electron device, metal, gears, etc. Normally, those materials are used for making industrial products. We, at least I, would not connect these materials with “art”. The exhibit using gears conveys the origin of the universe and expresses the long evolving time of the earth. The twirl of the gears symbolizes time. Each gear represents different stages of the universe.
The complex structure with sticks and motors shows the complexity and the logic operation of computers.
I can’t understand some of them even if I read the introduction. They are the art of science.
The non-technology based artwork, for example, paintings, normally shows the beauty of lines and colors.
Paintings usually describes the beauty of the landscape, still life, portrait, etc. Paintings often combine with the painters’ emotion and tendency. They are more individual oriented. While the Chorus exhibition relates more to the thinking and reflection on human development.
B. The first interactive project I choose is “Self-Choreographing Network – Cyber-physical design and interactive bending-active systems”. As Mathias Maierhofer and Valentina Soana sho, “This project proposes a hybrid approach: a real-time, interactive design and operation process that enables the (material) system to be self-aware, fully utilizing and exploring its kinetic design space for adaptive purposes”. “self-aware” and “adaptive” show the project’s capability of “thinking”. With “robotic joints” and digital set, the project can accomplish “kinetic purpose”. More importantly, the kinetic outcome is unpredictable. The outcome will differ according to the users’ reactions. The project has a purpose and autonomous reaction, which I believe makes it a great interactive example.
The second one which I believe is less interactive is called “Neo-Natur – A space for thought, about and for Nature”. The interaction part lies in the building process of this architecture. it uses Rhino/Grasshopper which is based on a mathematical principle to complete the creation. However, after the building process is done, it can not change. In other words, it lacks adaptiveness. It is not capable of changing according to the influence of the eternal environment.
C. In the description of the article “Interaction, design and new media”, it says “The real revolution of art and design is not happening with contents but with tools”. In other words, how we present matters more than what we present. Interaction relates more to the way we interact. The concept and content may be simple. But the method and the medium we use create interaction. Use the Choreography project I mentioned as an example. The kinetics that the machine shows is simple. But it uses complicated digital devices and it is adaptive. Therefore, it is interactive. Looking back at my midterm project, we lack the interactive tool. The opening of boxes does not interact with the user because the outcomes do not relate to the input directly. There is no necessary correspondence between the input and output. The input is like a switch, telling the computer that we can open a box. But which box we can actually open have nothing to do with the input. To wrap up, a successful interaction should contain a reasonable relationship with the input and the output. Each input should have a specific output. Through the interactive tool, each input gains an output that only belongs to itself.
Reference
Posada, Álex. Interaction, Design and New Media. 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsrac&AN=edsrac.310536&site=eds-live.
Neo-Natur – A space for thought, about and for Nature / ART+COM
Self-Choreographing Network – Cyber-physical design and interactive bending-active systems