Response to Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen

I found this blog post to be particularly interesting from the standpoint of someone who would say they do not understand art. When I go to art museums, I have no particular interest or understanding of the piece. However, when it comes to more interactive pieces, I always gravitate towards it because I don’t have to interpret the piece.

I definitely agree with Tigoe’s statement about once you have the initial statement, you should shut up. I don’t think there’s much to explain and I personally won’t bother with reading what they have to say about the piece. There’s no need to explain and offer their own interpretation on the side. It’s kind of like writing code and making a comment about what each line of the code does even though it’s obvious.

Timoe says that “if you’re thinking of an interactive artwork, don’t think of it like a finished painting or sculpture. ” I think that’s a great idea and it goes well with the listening aspect of it because it gives the artist a chance to see what people see the art piece as rather than spending so much time on convincing people to think of an art piece like the way they want them to. It’s so hard to make everyone feel the same way about a piece so the best an artist can do is listen, watch and then maybe change some aspects if they really don’t like what they are seeing.