The Emergence of Media Art
The emergence of media art brought transformation to everything in the field of art and the world at large. Through the institutionalization of these media art, the arts that were technically oriented developed significantly because the institutions made it possible for the artists to access these technologies more efficiently. The author claims that the media art was a pacesetter in the information age, and due to these innovative ideas that came up as a result of it mass media has significantly developed and taken center stage in art. The establishment of media institutions and companies were the driving force towards the evolution of technical and complex media art that are more interactive and immersive. I agree with the author that the term media art is misused because it integrates both genre and category in its definition making it insufficient in its description because it focuses on the media used to convey the message of the art. It is clear to me that employing the concept of using the nature of the art for classification such as computer art have led to the success of interdisciplinary art as well as help in the elimination of the controversies that arise as a result of generalizing the media instead of being more specific in the classification.
Interaction and Communication in Art
According to the article on interactive art, interaction is a subset of communication and also communication a subset of interaction depending on whether the participants are interested in cognitive elaboration or the feedback process. In an early 20th century the concept of interaction referred to different types of feedback processes. However, in the mid 20th century, the perspective of the interaction process changed leading to the emergence of cybernetics that deals with the structure of complex systems between the human self-organization and the feedback systems (Kwastek, 4). The author claims that cybernetics focuses more on statistical analysis; his argument is valid because unlike the other feedback process theories, cybernetics was able to distinguish between various types of feedbacks ranging from systems that could learn to those that exhibited reflexive reaction.
The Role of Human-Computer Interaction
Computer technology could not have advanced so rapidly without an efficient human-computer interaction. I concur with this claim because due to the invention of the sketch pad and the mouse the communication between man and computers became possible as a result of the establishment of human-computer interface and human-computer interaction (HCI). Interactive art takes into consideration the difference between interactivity and interaction and focuses on achieving the potentials that are developed into systems. The advancement in technology has made it easier for the technical feedback processes to be controlled digitally by the use of HCI strategy (Kwastek, 8). Interactive art is perceived as the mother of media art, and through it, I believe artificial intelligence and artificial life were inspired by comparison of face to face interaction. These artwork imitating human beings stimulates biological interaction in people since they represent processes that can be better understood when separated from the complexity of real life.
Audience Participation in Art
The artwork is not presentable and lacks meaning if the audience participation is not incorporated. Wagner, John Cage, and Robert Rauschenberg introduced the idea of making the audience to be part of the production process as co-creators which played a vital role in actualization and interpretation (Kwastek, 13). The author believes audience participation is essential because it enhances personal perception and because of the introduction of this concept in artistic work, the public has had a chance to take active roles in the artwork. This strategy is valid because by expanding art into the realm of real life, the society can be able to take part in the shaping of their surrounding actively and hence their wellbeing. Incorporating the public participation in artistic work was a creative strategy, and it established a linkage between the art and daily life. However, to some extent I feel incorporating audience participation in artistic projects without proper plans can be disadvantageous to the whole process and therefore I would suggest that adequate control mechanism is put in place to avoid any interference. The perception and movement exhibited in kinetic and optical arts encourage the audience to actively participate as well as be more involved in artwork emotionally, intellectually and physically and through this involvement, I am sure the art will be more aesthetic.
Action and Performance Art
Performance art and action arts are centered at capturing the audiences’ self-observation and self-perception by using media to enhance observation as well as recording real-time actions hence stimulating self-reflection. The author argues that control mechanism is essential in action and performance arts because it helps achieve a situation where the audience becomes an external viewer who cannot approach himself or herself hence creating tension as a result of the inability to reconcile the mediated and perceived perception a situation that leads to the development of extreme audience conditioning. I agree with this argument because by incorporating control mechanism in action and performance art the audience will be more engaged in the production process as co-creators giving their contribution from their perspective (Kwastek, 27).
Media Art and Technological Advancements
The advancement in telecommunication was stimulated by artistic projects that made use of it as their theme, location or medium. The radio and television played a vital role in the conveyance of artwork as well as the artists made use of it for collaborative purposes a situation that was a driving force behind more inventions in this field. It is clear that media art has come a long way and the creativity and the new strategies that the artists employed in its development were very critical in this journey (Kwastek, 33). The urge to have reforms in the collaborative and creative production drove these artists to explore new and different communication media, and because of this, I am in agreement with Kwastek that these reforms led to the birth of sophisticated electronic information and communication networks such as world wide web, social media, and mobile phones. Interaction is one of the essential features of electronic media, and since the media make use of the technologies that are also a fundamental part of our society, it has a significant impact on its well being.
Work Cited
Kwastek K. Interactive Art- Definitions and Origin. MIT Press, 2013. P 1-42
