March 2003

m Digital broadcasting, Wireless, Network through Internet, Mobile Technology… Recently so many interactive technologies are flowing into our surroundings that our society has become a new communicative environment. Arts fields have also taken those steps toward interactivity and that outcome is 'Interactive Art'. However, when we are thinking about interactivity, we happen to meet the fundamental question of 'what is interactivity' or 'what is good interactivity?' The interactivity of art or interactivities in other fields are not different from casual conversation, which has the process of listening, developing and expressing. We cannot live without others. Desires to talk each other and communicate with the world make people progress in advancing interactivity.

m I think that the 'Interactive Arts' also have this desire to establish communication between viewers and art works or artists. Although the viewers or the one who will experience the work are regarded importantly in all arts, especially in comparison to traditional art, the role of viewers in interactive art is very crucial. Because it should be considered that from the starting point that the interactive art pieces are made. Sometimes the viewers' reaction can be a critical factor to embody the art piece. In this case, usually the viewer's first reaction is referred to as 'input', and it also generates output of the works, creating a feedback loop. So in an interactive art, the viewers have to have an active position and artists give much more attention to them rather than in other artistic manifestations. On the other hand, in bad interactive art, viewers are forced to have a passive position and artist dictates to the viewers how to react.
m For example, I have seen a screen-based display work that generates images with keyboard input of a computer situated on a desk in the gallery. Then this computer shows output images on the screen. But this is not effective work as an interactive artwork. In this case only one viewer can take a seat for that work and he or she has to respond only with a mouse, following the guidance that the artist gives to him. It gives only one choice to interact with art piece and this makes the only method of input very limited. This does not provide the real interactive communication, because the viewers' role is neither creative nor active. On the other hand, I have seen a work composed by a lot of small robots that are hanging around in a gallery room. If viewers come into the room, one robot starts to move as a response to the viewers' walking direction and other robots also start to move in response to each robot's movement. So the viewers' one step makes the all robots in the room move simultaneously. I think this is good example as an interactive artwork. The viewer sees the reaction of art piece physically and at the same time the viewer can think about their own reaction to the response of the robots' movement. So the viewers can start to think about where to go or what to do for next step and start to run or stay still.

m In my point of view, good artistic interactivity encourages both viewers and creators to be creative in the works. The artists must consider the viewers as an important existence in all interactive arts, and let them be creative rather than just passively receive an idea or message showing the guide lines and instructions to follow up and obey. In addition, good art works provide new methodological ways to think about the communication between a artist and viewers. I think this is like our daily conversation. Good conversation has a specific meaning to consider later on and which can be reconsidered again and again, and it provides the participants of that conversation with the feeling that the talk or conversation with the other participant was impressive or productive. Likewise the conversation interactive art gives room to produce a meaningful thought or feeling.
m While in effective art, the viewer is an active and creative participant, the artist must provide room for exchanging thoughts and feelings freely and naturally with viewers through art piece. In this way, he or she is able to allow the viewers to be flexible and not impose reactions or dictate communication with art piece. In order to lead and invite the active participation and dynamic response from viewers and to let them immerse herself/himself in the experience, the open and flexible interface of input and output is inevitable. Because when we think about our daily talk, we are not controlled by anything. We can freely use our facial or body expression such as finger or arm movement when it is necessary for communication. So an artist needs to expect as many possibilities as he or she can and reflects them into his/her works.

m As I mentioned above a unsuccessful work result from the limited choices of input or passive participation. Methodologically inflexible input such as just a keyboard or mouse input and output for the interactive installation in the gallery looks boring and too simple to participate in and react to compared to our dynamic conversation. But how can we avoid computational output seeming mechanical? Improved wireless technology and other communicative technology enable us to go beyond limit s of space and time? How we can make humanized interactivity?
m On the other hand, we also need to consider technically novelty in art piece. To those who deal with technical devices, technical novelty tends to be a fascinating and charming subject. However in so many cases I can find the examples that have just given us novelty without substance. Technical novelty is a kind of methodological ways to show off. Usually interactive arts have this kind of problem. So artists need to think about the meaning of using technology before manipulating technologies and what they have to contain inside of technical appearances.

m What I want to make is the art that provides many possible communicative ways like in the art works described above. I would like to implement more humanized and natural interactivity in art just like our daily conversation. So I will produce a realistic dialogue and conversation in the art piece and let viewers experience immersion in the virtual space of art piece and conceptually think about the relationship between virtual space and physical space.

Hyun Jean Lee

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