These exhibits can be interactive digital art that responds to your touch or something that bends human and artificial intelligence. In whatever form they present themselves, the main objective is to create a unique interaction with contemporary art allowing the distinction between artist, artwork and viewer to become more fluid.
If you’re on the same side of TikTok as I am, you probably saw Yayoi Kusama’s Obliteration Room at the Tate Modern. The room started as a completely blank space provided by the artist: walls and floor, a dining table, toys, sofas, and more. Visitors were given brightly coloured round stickers and asked to decorate the white space. Over just a few weeks the room was completely transformed into a sea of colour.
This kind of interactive art, where we’re not simply looking but are allowed to experience things in a hands-on way, makes art more accessible. This exhibit in particular was designed for children and I think this conscious decision to get children more involved in art is vital to make art less elitest and pretentious.
Yayoi Kusama was also the artist behind the infinity mirror rooms which inspired a social media storm of selfies and videos. The artist encourages this type of posting and sees it as an infinite digital extension of her work. These mirrored rooms particularly tackle issues of self, asking you to question your sense of bodily understanding and sense of space. Delivering an impactful message is arguably the purpose of all art and achieving this through an interactive exhibit paves the way for more art like Kusama’s.
It is not only Kusama who has explored the bounds of interactive art, a particularly beautiful piece is Rain Room by Random International. This piece is meant to simulate the experience of being in a heavy downfall without getting wet. The piece explores the intersection between technology, nature, and human perception and functions through motion sensors that detect people, and stop the rain above them. This creates a god-like experience of controlling the rain.
Interactive art is a wonderful way to get people involved in modern art and create a sensory experience that encourages artistic conversation. I believe that the rise of interactive exhibits is a positive for the art world and is a whole new genre for modern artists to play with.
