Interactivity Research

In art, interactivity suggests an attempt to create something that is constantly in flux, offers different perspectives, or offers a chance to the audience or other external force to be an artist. An artist whose main consideration is interaction will most likely be working in several mediums, but may usually be considered sculptors. This method of creation can be an attempt to affect and offer reads from multiple senses, instead of just a visual stimulation(1). The process of interactive art is one in which the actual artist has less creative control, but sets up a set of parameters and then allows the work to take form.

As a new media artist who experiments with interactivity, Tim Hawkinson is concerned with movement, both the kinesthetic movement of the piece and that of the eye. His pieces “Emotor” and “Pentecost” are examples of this respectively. A play on words, the title, “Emotor” is an accurate self description; it emotes, using motors. The face, featuring a collage of Hawkinson’s features, responds to signals sent by a series of phototransistors attached to a television screen(2). This piece responds to how we as a culture view and react to television, and while it does not make any accusations, the piece suggests a sort of continuous reliance upon the media for one’s emotional state.

Hawkinson’s piece, “Pentecost” is another piece in which he is makes an interesting form of self portrait, and has heavy religious subject matter. Pentecost was when the disciples received the Holy Ghost and were able to communicate and understand all the tongues of the world. The twelve figures in the piece are meant to represent these twelve apostles, and the human community as a whole, because of their universal speech(3). These figures hit the tree they are connected to with different parts of their body, which I suppose suggests the fact that we are all one people, and aims to unite us. The line created by the tree that connects each “person” is erratic, and looks like a series of pipes in an unfinished building. This makes the eye travel around the expanse of the room, while also listening to the rhythm of the percussion.

Whereas Hawkinson’s sculptures interacted with themselves or kinetically motivated, Christo and Jean-Claude’s works do not seem to encapsulate usual traits of interactivity artists. They are more based on reframing the audience’s perspective (7), much in the way that Richard Serra did with his large steel forms. The duo’s pieces usually involve a multi-decadal process, in which they plan and coordinate with the site owners to alter the space (6).

“The Gates” is perhaps one of their most recognizable works. This piece consisted of a series of orange steal frames with the same color of fabric hanging down from them. They were set up along the sidewalks of New York City’s Central Park, and unveiled in 2005. The colors were set off by the fact that they were installed in the middle of winter. The sudden change of scenery must have been jarring as the locals found that their environment had been altered. The weather and position of the sun, constantly changing, offered an infinite number of reads during the brief period that it remained on display. Interactivity in this piece was taken to the next level when they thoughtfully considered how much the project would bring in due to tourism, and the issue of money expanded the actual physical sculpture’s reach. I think the most interesting aspect of the piece is that it took 26 years to approve of and build the piece, but it only remained up for 16 days (4).

Looking at their website, at one of their latest undertakings, “Over the River” offers a unique look into their process. This may be the first time that they are able to display this kind of information on the web for the world to see. And while yes the internet has been around for years, this is the first one to begin while computers and internet access have been made pretty much every day commodities. The site has all sorts of information about timelines for construction and deconstruction, the materials that will be used, how the wildlife is going to be protected, how they will treat the environment before and after the installation, how traffic will be controlled, how they will deal with sanitation and garbage, and a projection of the costs. It is interesting that they are so open with all this information, the fact that they even offer this to be viewed by the public could be considered interaction in the process. While we do not shape the project during its creation, we are invited to view every detail during it.

(1) www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hawkinson/index.html

(2) www.thecityreview.com/thawkins.html

(3) www.artseensoho.com/Art/ACE/hawkinson99/h1.html

(4) http://christojeanneclaude.net/tg.shtml

(5) http://christojeanneclaude.net/otr.shtml

(6) www.ndoylefineart.com/christo.html

(7) www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2008-10/2008-10-28-voa1.cfm