hi there everyone
Just a normative non-technical question here. I was wondering how would you guys 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. I think that art in public space is very much different with one on gallery or museum, because people won't have that mind set of actually having an interaction with an art piece. If so then, what are your strategies to create one? Are you assuming that people or passer-by will automatically react to that interactive art? Or is there anything else?
Thank you guys, have a great day :D
Cheers,
Adityo
www.adityo.net
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
oh wow, this is so complete, thank you for answering Simon. Have you done this kind of installation before? After some digest, I think you're right, the key is to create something easy to understand and interesting for both the audience and the performer. You nailed the key point here.
Thank you very much :)
On Wed, Apr 6, 2011 at 8:49 PM, Simon Wise simonzwise@gmail.com wrote:
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
Pd-list@iem.at mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
On 07/04/11 19:28, Adityo Pratomo wrote:
oh wow, this is so complete, thank you for answering Simon. Have you done this kind of installation before? After some digest, I think you're right,
I've worked with performance and installation and public spaces and interaction in various different combinations for many years, but a lot of the ideas I mentioned come originally from working with a performance company that spent seven years digging quite deeply into the audience-performer relationship, pushing what you can expect from an audience member quite hard, and questioning why and how you can do it. No computers involved, but a lot of string and pulleys and no shortage of bodies or interaction.
Simon
I've made a fair amount of interactive video work in public spaces and it is best to assume nothing about the public. In general, the vast majority will ignore it unless you physically disrupt the space like Richard Serra - and then people will just hate you. Putting the image of the viewer in the work can help since a good chunk of the world likes looking at themselves. Others will run for cover. It is best to keep the interaction portion simple and direct since kids are likely to spend the largest amount of time playing with the work. Adults usually have a lot to do and stopping to 'interact' with artwork isn't at the top of the list.
Placement of the work makes a huge difference so locating the work near a museum district or outside of the local Google office has the potential to attract a public more inclined to deal with the work.
And finally, any work put in the public space will require some amount of legal work to be done particularly in the US. It is in the artist's interest to employ some sort of representation to avoid nasty things down the road.
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:01 PM, Adityo Pratomo quietdidit@gmail.com wrote:
hi there everyone
Just a normative non-technical question here. I was wondering how would you guys 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. I think that art in public space is very much different with one on gallery or museum, because people won't have that mind set of actually having an interaction with an art piece. If so then, what are your strategies to create one? Are you assuming that people or passer-by will automatically react to that interactive art? Or is there anything else?
Thank you guys, have a great day :D
Cheers,
Adityo
www.adityo.net
Pd-list@iem.at mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
Even something as simple as an indicator light that is motion triggered is enough to communicate the interactivity of the piece to the audience... there are more creative ways of course.
On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 8:02 AM, chris clepper cgclepper@gmail.com wrote:
I've made a fair amount of interactive video work in public spaces and it is best to assume nothing about the public. In general, the vast majority will ignore it unless you physically disrupt the space like Richard Serra - and then people will just hate you. Putting the image of the viewer in the work can help since a good chunk of the world likes looking at themselves. Others will run for cover. It is best to keep the interaction portion simple and direct since kids are likely to spend the largest amount of time playing with the work. Adults usually have a lot to do and stopping to 'interact' with artwork isn't at the top of the list.
Placement of the work makes a huge difference so locating the work near a museum district or outside of the local Google office has the potential to attract a public more inclined to deal with the work.
And finally, any work put in the public space will require some amount of legal work to be done particularly in the US. It is in the artist's interest to employ some sort of representation to avoid nasty things down the road.
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:01 PM, Adityo Pratomo quietdidit@gmail.comwrote:
hi there everyone
Just a normative non-technical question here. I was wondering how would you guys 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. I think that art in public space is very much different with one on gallery or museum, because people won't have that mind set of actually having an interaction with an art piece. If so then, what are your strategies to create one? Are you assuming that people or passer-by will automatically react to that interactive art? Or is there anything else?
Thank you guys, have a great day :D
Cheers,
Adityo
www.adityo.net
Pd-list@iem.at mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
Pd-list@iem.at mailing list UNSUBSCRIBE and account-management -> http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
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Adityo Pratomo -
chris clepper -
Simon Wise -
Tyler Leavitt