[PD] creating an engaging interactive art in public space

[Simon Wise]

On 05/04/11 09:01, Adityo Pratomo wrote:

> create an engaging interactive art piece for a public space? I was just
> doing a casual internet browsing the other day, looking at various
> interactive art in public space, then suddenly that question popped up.

Looking at only the public space + interactive part of the question (so not 
considering general things to consider in making work for an audience .. or in 
making something interactive, or placing a work in a public space) ...

Some choices I would probably make ...

  - I would want to ensure there was no need to explain to an audience that 
interaction is possible and desirable, and to use the interactive-ness of the 
installation to provoke a desire to explore and discover. This is certainly not 
the only kind of interactive installation I would be interested in, but it would 
be my first impulse.

  - The work must either invite or provoke the sort of activities that create a 
recognisable response in its 'resting' state, or should be devised in such a way 
that visitors to the space doing the common things in that space provide the 
required input. These are two very different approaches and lead to very 
different kinds of work, both are interesting to me.

  - The interactive-ness should be noticeable by a casual visitor, and the 
methods and logic of that interaction should be able to be worked out by an 
engaged audience member through the kinds of exploration invited by the special 
qualities of the installation and the particular habits and rules of the public 
space it has been placed in. It is important to remember that only some will 
engage in this way, and that the work should not depend on this way of engaging 
but it should certainly allow for it. Confusing or inconsistent behaviour is 
certainly a possibility, as a conscious choice of the artist and followed 
through properly, but is hard to make work.

  - The kind of engagement with the interactivity which is playful more than 
analytical should be rewarding.

  - The work should also be engaging for an audience member that is more 
passively observing while others interact. That is I would keep in mind that the 
interaction is only part of the work, and that quite often a passer-by will be 
engaged by the work because of the interaction with someone else.

  - Interactivity presents the opportunity to give a work a strong sense of 
being alive, and of building a heightened sense of connection with the space. 
The moment a visitor notices the responsiveness is very important, it can be the 
start of some kind of narrative or journey, or some kind of surprise which 
shifts the way the public space is perceived, or ...



There is a lot more to say, it is a very big topic!


Simon