Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Quick follow-up to "Term Limits"

maria mortati, gyroscope inc, museums Here's something I forgot to mention in my earlier post- the Milwaukee Art Museum has a new exhibit opening this month called Act/React: Interactive Art. It shows work by a lot of the current big hitters in that realm (Liz Phillips, Daniel Rozin, Scott Snibbe, Camille Utterback). This exhibit plays with what I think are the more traditional notions of "interactive". I love the fact that there are many shades of grey around what is an exhibit as well as what makes it interactive. That's keeping it alive and compelling. It also spans science, art, and design to name a few. It's the shared language that needs some reconsideration. I'm curious about what's worked for you. What kinds of terms have resonated with you when working with these ideas? What tends to help a shared development process move forward when talking about something ubiquitous and yet unique?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Y'know, when I think back about all the interactive exhibits I've seen in my life, the most memorable one involved very minimal technology. I was in Bologna visiting relatives some years back, and one of them took our family to the local art museum for the Edwin Wurm exhibit. I wasn't familiar with his work at the time, but instantly became a big fan. A large room was filled with what I believe to be his one minute sculptures, and all six of us started playing with them together. The sculptures involve such minimal props and instructions, and can create such major impact, mirth and thought. They explore issues of bodies, boundaries, etiquette, comfort and more. Dad and Pierro shared a giant shirt, with both heads sticking out the neck hole; Lella lay down and balanced on multiple golf balls in the middle of the room; I teetered on a bucket with another on my head. The images were bizarre, sculptural and thought provoking. And the experience turned into a real family moment, complete with German tourists laughing at us from a balcony above. I always think back to this day, when searching for compelling interactive ideas. They don't necessarily need to be complex or involve a lot of tech.

Maria Mortati said...

Summer,

It sounds like his interactive is a full-body AND social experience, which have to be my all time favorites (with or without tech). He presents an interesting idea with his exhibit- the "interaction" is a relationship with a collection of experiences, rather than a singular piece.

I'd never heard of Wurm- thanks for introducing him. I checked him out and his work seems to be simultaneously delightful and thoughtful. This summed up what I saw on-line:

"His central concern is with... conceiving the act of sculpture itself as sudden and momentary."

...I'd add that the experience of the sculptures can be sudden and momentary as well.