Sculpture Studio Spring 2010

Project 2: Kinetics and Interactivity

Interactivity
“Jellyfish Curtain”

Interactive art is created in an attempt to involve the viewer in the piece past the typical viewer-to-art relationship of admiring from afar. The goal of the artist is to transform the viewer into a participant, and thus have them interact with your art. I wanted to make the viewers subconsciously as well as physically confront their fears by interacting with something that is associated with pain, and occasionally death: jellyfish. Most people can agree that jellyfish are beautiful, amazing creatures- from a distance. Not many people, however, are brave enough or willing to touch the tentacles of a large jellyfish for fear of being stung.

My goal, as a sculptor, was to make the viewers become participants and have to walk through jellyfish tentacles in order to pass through a doorway. The sense of touch is central to my piece and is enhanced by the use of mixed media to create a textural experience. I chose to make the oral arm of the jellyfish out of strategically glued plastic wrap so that it is both smooth and hard at the same time. In order to emphasize texture, I juxtaposed this smooth feel with the rough, scratchy experience of hemp string. Therefore, as the participant walks through the curtain of jellyfish tentacles, they are simultaneously hit by both smooth and rough textures. The hemp also sticks to clothing and hair so it seems that the jellyfish are attached to you- like they are in the water when they sting you. Although I was concerned with texture, it was also very important that I maintain the beautiful, delicate appearance of a jellyfish. I wanted to make them realistic to a point that they were recognizable, but at the same time abstracted to emphasize their natural characteristics. It was important that they appeared visually and tactilely interesting, so that the viewer would want to get closer and touch them.

In order to make this piece even more interactive, I chose to incorporate sound into my installation. By including a faint background noise of underwater sounds, I wanted to immerse the viewer into the environment. Ideally there would be many more jellyfish in the doorway of a gallery setting so that other elements in the classroom/hallway would not interfere. My vision, had it been possible, would have been for the room to be extremely dark with dark blue lights illuminating the jellyfish from above. Also, I would have had the underwater noises playing on surround sound speakers so that the source was not identifiable. I think this would have made the installation more eerie, and thus would have enhanced the interactive aspect of the piece. The viewer would then be reminded that jellyfish are dangerous creatures as they had to walk through the hanging tentacles.