Project 2: Kinetics and Interactivity
ANALYSIS

When most people think of art, they immediately think of museums, exhibitions, and galleries. They think of drawings, paintings, and sculptures. And these types of art are all well and good, but they also have one thing in common, and that is that the only way a viewer can interact with them is by looking at them. There exists however another type of art, called kinetic art, which not only invites, but is completely dependent on the viewer's interactions. Without the viewer experiencing the artwork more than just visually, the artwork cannot completely exist as an artwork as a whole. Change is crucial in interactive works, whether it is that the viewer looks into a mirror, or rides a bicycle, walks on top of, or crawls under the work, like in many of Mowry Baden's works, the entire experience and relationships between the artwork and the viewer has changed. The artwork has now been affected by and also completed by the actions of the viewer, and the viewer also has been able to experince the artwork in many more ways than just from behind a glass wall or roped barriers or any other sort of boundary that one experiences in a museum or other more traditional art setting. In these settings the viewer is physically separated from the artwork, and their gaze is the only instrument in which the viewer can communicate with and take in the artwork. But with interactive artworks, the viewer can experience the artwork with many other sense than just sight and develop a relationship with the artwork on a much more intimate level. Whereas the meaning of more traditional artworks is made by the artist, the meaning of interactive artworks is made through the combination of the artist's work, the sculpture's presence, and the viewer's interaction as well.
I do not think that interactive artwork is necessarily better than traditional artwork, but it does have its benefits. As mentioned above, the sculpture depends on the viewer's interaction in order for the sculpture to come to life, so this gives the viewer a sort of power over the sculpture. Not only can they choose whether or not they even want to interact with it, but if they do, they can also choose in what way. This allows the viewer to experience and re-experience the same artwork over and over again and possibly always come away from it with something different and new. We can all marvel the absolutely amazing paintings and sculptures of artists like Michelangelo, which seem to be created without any sign of the artist's touch at all, and while staring at pieces like 'David' or the 'Sistine Chapel' we can wonder about how someone can even think of attempting such a masterpiece, let alone actually doing it. But interactive art allows the viewer to engage their curiosity and experience the artwork so much more than just visually. This, I guess can be considered as a pro of interactive art. But on the other hand, I can admit, that I do really enjoy marveling at non-interactive artworks like those of Michelangelo. I enjoy being completely mystified at them and being both pround and held in amazement at the extent to which humans can achieve and create. And sometimes that sense of not knowing everything is ok. Interactive work may allow the viewer to have an insight into an artwork that they wouldn't have had it the piece were created only just to be looked at, but maybe sometimes the experience makes the viewer become aware of more than they wanted to know.