written by tom.
thoughts:
felt very similar to kishore telling me to never include concept notes in a piece of visual work.
i believe it’s true: you make work (set the stage), and then put it in conversation with people (by sitting back & watching people ‘interact’ with your work).
quotes:
Quite often I see artists who venture into interactive art start by making interactive artworks and offering interpretation in the notes beside them. They’ll describe the work, then tell you what each element means,and what the participant will do with those elements. They pre-script what will happen. When you do that, you’re telling the participant what to think, and by extension, how to act. Is that what you wanted?
It’s a hard shift for some artists to think about making interactive work because we’re taught that a work of art is a work of expression. It’s a statement. Interactive work is different. The thing you build, whether it’s a device or a whole environment, is just the beginning of a conversation with the people who experience your work.
Your audience completes the work through what they do when they see what you’ve made.