On 05/04/11 09:01, Adityo Pratomo wrote:
create an engaging interactive art piece for a public space? I was just doing a casual internet browsing the other day, looking at various interactive art in public space, then suddenly that question popped up.
Looking at only the public space + interactive part of the question (so not considering general things to consider in making work for an audience .. or in making something interactive, or placing a work in a public space) ...
Some choices I would probably make ...
- I would want to ensure there was no need to explain to an audience that
interaction is possible and desirable, and to use the interactive-ness of the installation to provoke a desire to explore and discover. This is certainly not the only kind of interactive installation I would be interested in, but it would be my first impulse.
- The work must either invite or provoke the sort of activities that create a
recognisable response in its 'resting' state, or should be devised in such a way that visitors to the space doing the common things in that space provide the required input. These are two very different approaches and lead to very different kinds of work, both are interesting to me.
- The interactive-ness should be noticeable by a casual visitor, and the
methods and logic of that interaction should be able to be worked out by an engaged audience member through the kinds of exploration invited by the special qualities of the installation and the particular habits and rules of the public space it has been placed in. It is important to remember that only some will engage in this way, and that the work should not depend on this way of engaging but it should certainly allow for it. Confusing or inconsistent behaviour is certainly a possibility, as a conscious choice of the artist and followed through properly, but is hard to make work.
- The kind of engagement with the interactivity which is playful more than
analytical should be rewarding.
- The work should also be engaging for an audience member that is more
passively observing while others interact. That is I would keep in mind that the interaction is only part of the work, and that quite often a passer-by will be engaged by the work because of the interaction with someone else.
- Interactivity presents the opportunity to give a work a strong sense of
being alive, and of building a heightened sense of connection with the space. The moment a visitor notices the responsiveness is very important, it can be the start of some kind of narrative or journey, or some kind of surprise which shifts the way the public space is perceived, or ...
There is a lot more to say, it is a very big topic!
Simon