I am very grateful for the Embodied Interaction class.

​

Apart from learning some software technologies in this class, what I found particularly meaningful was that it opened the door for me to understand what interactive art is.

 

Previously, I created sculptures, videos, and installation art, and how to combine the audience with the artwork has always been something I wanted to try but did not fully understand. However, in this class, I learned how to truly incorporate audience interaction as part of the art itself.

​

"Blurred memories" was my first complete interactive art creation. At the beginning, I tended to emphasize the content I wanted to express, and largely ignored how the audience would participate in the initial concept presentation. I mainly elaborated on the emotional expression and meaning of the work.

​

But during the creation process, Matti's questions about the interaction loopholes in many of my works (such as what actions to trigger, what actions to end, and how the audience can participate more smoothly and completely) gave me a lot to think about. This strongly triggered me to think about how the audience can truly participate in my work. So I began to think about how a completely unfamiliar audience would experience my work. As an artist, I no longer need to provide too many explanations and annotations for the audience. Instead, I focus on how to let the audience experience the art in the process and feel it in the interaction.

​

With this mindset, I was able to continuously improve the audience's experience in the creation process. And I truly felt and found that this is the kind of art I want to create.

​

So I am very grateful for any new experiences and knowledge I learned in this class, which has strengthened my desire to create new media art.

 

Thanks :)

​

Xuemei Ge

26/04/2023