Act/React

     I was able to visit the Act/React exhibit with two of my closest friends. I was the only one with any idea of what to expect. I convinced them to come and that their money would be well spent. I have to be honest, I went to this exhibit with an amusement park mentality. I thought, “interactive art, hmm, this will be fun.” I found out quickly that going for amusement was not the only purpose artists had in mind. It seemed that the artists wanted visitors to interact, appreciate, and thoughtfully consider their creation.

     The first interactive art installation I thoroughly enjoyed was the piece titles “Deep Walls” by Scott Snibbe. It was second in the seemingly ordered display sequence. I first walked up to the premises of the piece, viewing the screen and the action of other visitors. “Deep Walls” is focused on a screen with 16 rectangles, each projecting a different moving image that was recorded by walking in front of the screen. I was immediately interested as I began to see the result of one’s movements in front of the screen. Walking up to the front of the screen, I did not know what to do with my body. I decided to do a wave with my arms. It was simple and safe. After seeing myself placed in a seemingly random rectangle waving my arms I craved more. My friends jumped in and began to experiment as well. Others around were not shy either. It was an inviting piece. It seemed that one’s individual reaction to their performance prompted others to get involved. We all wanted a piece of the action. It was as though we were at a dance party, and there was a dance line forming, where each person was given their turn dance through the line. Some would have a spirit in which they would try to out do others with more creativity, some just wanted a quick attempt at manipulating the piece, and others just wanted their rectangle to be as outlandish as possible. I felt as though it was one of the strongest pieces, if not the strongest piece in the entire exhibit for several reasons. First, it brought about the most central sense of community by almost forcing others to communicate, but it was done in such a subtle way. In my time invested in the “Deep Walls” I experienced many different attitudes, practices and virtues. Their was laughter, experiment, embarrassment, humility, patience, acceptance, creativity, kindness, vulnerability, and several other ideas that the people projected individually and as a group. I believe one could find many meanings in the piece, but the meanings I would promote are; the most fun is had with others around and people need to feed off the creations of others for the best results in their own creations. Someone’s piece of art might inspire another, who will then go on to inspire another, and so on. This idea was present when one did something in front of the wall that sparked ideas from others. It was a domino effect. I highly recommend visiting this piece for some time. It is the true gem of the exhibit.

     The second most enjoyable piece was the Snow Mirror by Daniel Rozin. This piece seemed to have the most substance underneath the actual piece itself. By substance I am saying that there were some idea(s) that were being promoted through this piece that were not obvious, but it was obvious that they were there, that something of worth was beneath the material. It was a special moment to walk into the room of this piece. The room was dark, small, and contained only a hanging fabric, a camera, and a projector. I felt as though this piece should be apart of a separate interactive art exhibit because of the mysterious nature of it. Maybe an interactive art exhibit in which the greeters would hand out cards of questions chosen by the artist regarding their piece, thus requiring more thoughtful consideration. Watching my figure projected on the fabric was intriguing for many reasons. It was a black and white image, the image was put together with falling pixels or “snowflakes,” and the quality of the picture depended on how still one’s body was. When one moved, the image blurred and almost disappeared into the snowfall as if someone just shook up an etch a sketch masterpiece. If one moves slowly, the projection shows that even a simple movement will cause the entire scene to be different. It moves on like that. It is as if to say that life is always moving. Though we might be standing still, time is still moving (snowflakes falling), we are still growing older. I think it bashes complacency and promotes the idea that people need not get caught up in their pasts, but embrace the now. The thing I love about interactive art is that each different person will interact with the art in their own unique way and have their own meanings or lack thereof for each piece.

I agree with Goerge Fifields critique on art in Act/React. I think that passive art (film, sculpture, paintings, theatre, books etc) could never gain such audience participation that these interactive installation art makers have gained. I never thought of the said forms of passive art as passive, but as I began to think about this idea, I was beckoned to agree. It is interesting to see the trend in interactive art. It seems to rely heavily on computers and technology, but I would like to come into contact with interactive art that does not require or even use technology. I am sure that it exists. I know this inspirational 20th and 21st Century art form will continue to grow and expand in creativity and popularity. It is inevitable considering the amount of technological advancements happening constantly, and because of the universal understanding of technology.

I think Act/React was well worth the visit and that it should be visited with more thoughtful consideration regarding the meaning underneath each piece than one might think. 

 

Benjamin Fisher