It’s quite a puzzling world out there for artists and enthusiasts alike. There was a time where art was simple and identifying art was a transparent task. Acrylic on canvas? Yes, please. A stone sculpture? Of course. But then, the digital era arrived.
photo source: businessinsider
A free interactive art exhibition in Houston, USA earlier this year essentially let viewers talk to trees by transforming their voices into light and music. Visitors to the urban park could participate as easily as speaking into ‘input stations’ at each end of the walkway and follow the arches as their voices transform into sound effects.
Another installation that adopted a similar concept was a show called ‘Unspoken’ in New York. The artists aim was for viewers to reflect on mortality using strings and toe tags – like the ones you would find in the morgue. Each tag bears philosophical questions like ‘Do we actually exist?’ or ‘Can death be an adventure?’ and visitors are invited to fill out their answers, meditate, and even lie down under the strings.
Arguably, the upsurge of interactive and immersive installations, utilizing advanced technology, is blurring the lines of contemporary art.
What is interactive art?
Unlike a piece of art like a painting, interactive artwork relies on the participation of the spectator. Dating back to the late 1950s, its emergence was owed to artists desires to showcase art in less alienating and exclusive platforms. When they resorted to the street, storefront and more public spaces, their art became participatory and comprehensive.
It initiated the design of sculptures that are tangible and responsive. French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle built the monumental walk-in sculpture ‘Golem’ in Rabinovich Park, Jerusalem, which has a children’s slide. Today, interactive art is largely computer-based, allowing participants to respond to the technology set up by the artist, and can also be connected to relational aesthetics.
Is technology the new art medium?
Art in the modern era could diverge from being purely skill-based, towards the intentions and interpretations of the viewer or user. No longer is it required for an artist to paint or be the most talented sculptor – an idea or a concept would suffice. Computers have entered the art realm.
Interactive art derives from all these new technologies. The buzzword, however, can be misunderstood. Weren’t the Renaissance altarpieces, inviting the worshiper to contemplate life and its greater wonders, interactive?
Today’s sense refers to artwork that is directly interactive. Instead of a passive observer at a distance that we typically encounter in a gallery setting, technology makes room for greater understanding and creative engagement.
Keeping an open mind to modern trends and concepts of art? Traditional and authentic paintings on simple canvases are still just as alluring. Visit The Yellow Brick Road Gallery, an online art gallery, to start investing in under-discovered artwork created by exceptional artists.
