Travis West

Beatriz Bartolome

FFAR 250

Feb 3 2015

Defining interactive in the arts

“Interactive, adj.

Reciprocally active; acting upon or influencing each other.” (OED Online 2014)

Reciprocal in this case means that when one thing acts on another, the other's reaction acts on the

first, causing a reaction which acts on the other, in a cycle back and forth, both things acting and

reacting and reacting to reactions. Interaction is therefore a process, where all the things involved have

an ability to directly influence the outcome of the process through their actions, and through their

reactions.

Art is inherently interactive for the creators of art. While an artist might set out to create an

artwork which is fully formed in their mind to begin with, the act of creation itself always entails a

process of acting within the medium, sensing the reaction of the medium (a stroke of colour, a ringing

sound), and then adjusting the course of action to accommodate this. With each brushstroke a painter is

acted upon by their painting and must adjust the next brushstroke to react to the next in order to best

approach the final painting. As a musician plays, it is necessary to listen and adjust pitch and volume to

bring about the best possible performance.

However, there has historically been little to no opportunity for non-artist individuals to interact

with art. Beyond the role of patrons who might request a certain kind of art be produced, and the force

of culture in directing the efforts and energy of artists, non-artists have historically had no power to

interact with art except by interacting with artists, and by choosing which art to participate in.

An early example of an interactive artwork existed in the musical dice games that were popular in

the 18th century (“Musikalisches Würfelspiel” 2015). In these “games” one could generate a new

musical composition by rolling dice. However, the user's ability to decide the outcome of the game was

limited to rolling dice, which only really allowed them to reorganize a series of precomposed

possibilities randomly, creating more the illusion of interaction than interaction itself. It is not possible

for the user of such a dice game to influence the content of the music itself, only its structure.

The Oxford English Dictionary offers a second definition of interactive, “Pertaining to or being a

computer or other electronic device that allows a two-way flow of information between it and a user,

responding immediately to the latter's input.” Here interaction is about communication, the flow of

information. The electronic device sends a message to the user, who sends a message back. The

computer responds by instantly sending another message. Here again there is a reciprocity to

interaction, but the action is limited to the exchange of information. Telephones allowed this kind of

communicative interaction to take place across vast distances at incredible speed.

Television, itself a relatively new technology at the time, was one of the first media to use new

technologies for interactivity, by encouraging audience members to telephone live broadcasts in 1959

(Dobson 2001). Perhaps first works of interactive fiction were written on computers 1975 (“Interactive

Fiction”). Two years later in 1977, the first interactive television platform was release commercially

(Dobson 2001). Video games are increasingly used for artistic purposes, and are inherently interactive

by their nature.

The increasing speed and versatility of computers make new forms of interaction possible in all

art forms. Furthermore, the internet facilitates the most basic kind of interactions with art, through the

artist, the same way it facilitates all communication.

Works Cited

"interactive, adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, December 2014. Web. 1 February 2015.

"Interactive Fiction." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction>.

"Musikalisches Würfelspiel." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musikalisches_Würfelspiel>.

Dodson, Sean. "A Short History of Interactive TV." The Guardian. 5 Apr. 2001. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.

<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/apr/05/onlinesupplement5>.