Act/React: Interactive art at the Milwaukee Art Museum

For this entry I will discuss Daniel Rozin’s Snow Mirror and Janet Cardiff’s To Touch. Each of these interactive art displays, presents a very childlike atmosphere where the participants are invited to play. These displays are very similar to a children’s science museum, in that through a “hands-on” interactivity with the artwork, a uniquely personal experience should be brought about. By inviting the participant to become a part of the artwork itself, the experience should give the participant a feeling of inclusion. But I found that this inclusion of the participant to be distracting from the purpose of the artwork. Each of these displays will only work if the participant stops moving. While this does force the participants to focus completely on the artwork, it also caters to their narcissistic tendencies. The focus of the artwork is on the participant instead of the display. With To Touch, you become a psychic detective, trying to understand the “memories” of the table and Snow Mirror lets you see yourself in an environment where objects only appear when they “collect” snow, making the participant become a statue of sorts. The participant becomes enveloped in the artwork, but is distracted from contemplating the artwork. It seems to be another form of escapism that is similar to watching a Hollywood film. During the film, you are distracting from your own life for a short time, but very little of that time is spend contemplating the film and analyzing the experience. Perhaps afterwards, you may discuss the experience, but unless you are purposeful in your analysis, the discussion may boil down to “that was pretty cool”. There may be a need of separation from the artwork in order to contemplate it. If the participant was able to watch a recording of their interaction with the artwork, perhaps then contemplation can take place.