Sculpture Studio Spring 2012

Project 2: Kinetics and Interactivity
ARTIST RESEARCH

The focus of interactive/relational art is to engage the audience, either through its production or of the final object itself, emphasizing the interaction of artist and audience along with the interaction of art and its surroundings. The works of Rebecca Horn and Vito Acconci move to engage both the audience and the environment, making them a part of the work.

Rebecca Horn

“The transformation of the experience: that is pure art.” –Rebecca Horn

Since the late 1960s, Rebecca Horn’s “objects, actions, and performances [have] put a focus on the body.” (MedienKunstnetz.de) Many of her first works manipulates interaction as performance, which creates ways for one to directly interact with one’s environment. The most notable of these works are Finger Gloves (1970) and Unicorn (1972). Both were sculptural forms of body extensions as Horn explored the definition of body and space.

Finger Gloves (1970) & Unicorn (1972), respectively

Her later works deal more with kinetics, in which the object(s) change within themselves or as a response to the environment around them. Whereas Horn’s earlier works were an accentuation of the human body, these later works are also “human-centered.” (Winterson) The most notable of Horn’s works within this idea of interactivity is Knuckle Dome for James Joyce (2004), two sets of four knives each placed on an arm of bent wire moves up and down as the central motor works. As the cogs turn, two knives, one from each side of the machine, move towards the other.

Knuckle Dome for James Joyce (2004)

Her early and late works focus on space, whether it is space contained within the body, the space that surrounds it, and how space is used through interactions.

Vito Acconci

“Art isn't necessary anymore as a field, a profession; art is no longer a noun, it [has] become a verb. Art is nothing but a general attitude of thickening the plot.” –Vito Acconci

In contrast to Rebecca Horn’s works, Vito Acconci’s relied heavily on the participation of the audience, whether they were aware of it or not. Such instances are seen in Acconci’s Following Piece (1969) in which he decides to follow a certain bystander for either several minutes or even several hours, and then writes down a record of what the person had gone/done/etc. This piece becomes personal because it tracks the movements of another person.

Following Piece (1969)

Similar, while at the same time incredibly different, are his works of situationalist performance, such as Seedbed (1972). Acconci would lay under a wooden ramp that had been installed at the Sonnabend Gallery, masturbating as he recites sexual fantasies about those who would walk onto the ramp, which were heard through loudspeakers in the gallery. Interaction here is produced by the simple movements of the audience on the wooden ramp and is received when they heard Annonci’s spoken fantatsies, giving the audience the feeling of ‘stepping’ into something personal.

Seedbed (1972)

These works and similar short films created with similar themes to Seedbed, force people to see the interactions of one’s self, with others, and the environment surrounding them. Acconci’s work looks for the reactions and responses elicited from the audience, the give and take between artist and audience.

Both artists move to include the audience in their works. Whether it is a clockwork-piece or a form of body extensions, Horn pushes the audience to look beyond or within their own bodies, their own spaces, to see what could be new. Vito Acconci takes the audience and places them deep within the works, making them integral to the completion of a work. Both make a point into the inclusion of the audience and act as a source of inspiration for future artists, interactive or more.

References and Images:

http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/artist/horn/biography/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/may/23/art
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/artist/acconci/biography/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seedbed_(performance_piece)
http://quote.robertgenn.com/auth_search.php?authid=673