On audience attitude in participative and interactive forms
Above: Paper slideshow available through Google Docs.
Audiences are experiencing a growing apprehension and distrust of interaction in art and a reluctance to engage with art that employs it. Interactive art can be categorised in broadly two ways: works that are highly technological or works that are highly social. While apprehension of interaction in art has always existed it is proposed that rather than originating from fear of technology or social embarrassment, it now originates in an understanding of what technology can do (e.g. surveillance, data harvesting etc.) and a hyper-awareness of the self in the public sphere.
This paper introduces a proposed term, a protologism, Bahaviour [bah, as in bah humbug, and behaviour], as a means for articulating and discussing negative audience attitudes in participative and interactive forms. The paper was presented at InDialogue 2016 and followed by a open lunchtime discussion on the topic; specifically artist’s experiences with negative audience attitudes, strategies to address these and issues of institutions and platforms.
Above: Lunchtime discussion slideshow notes available through Google Docs.