Hi everyone, Keren here with you today to think about how to make our art interactive. It could be argued that good art is always interactive; it demands a response from the viewer. Art requires us to think, to question, to consider and to feel. But can we take our creative process up a gear and add in elements to delight and inspire those interacting with our art?
Popping across to the PaperArtsy blog there are plenty of inspiring makes. The first one is from Lauren Hatwell and she produced a wonderfully changing project (depending on how you view it or move it) with the special quirky touch that she's so well known for.
Jenny Marples has created some amazing architectural themed journal pages recently and they often involve flaps or hidden elements. Creating parts of our projects that need playing with or exploring is a fun way to incorporate interactivity.
Whilst the art we create on the PaperArtsy is small in scale, there are plenty of places where installations are paving the way in interactive art and digital art museums are a big growth area. This one (at Mori Building Digital Art Museum) titled Forest of Resonating Lamps is part of a number of works that have no boundaries and even overlap with other pieces of art in the museum; certainly a new way to experience art.
NOTA BENE Visual designed an amazing visual installation that changes as people stand in front, taking on both the shape of the person but also creating a unique set of words. Every time the art is different.
Interactive Street Art has become increasingly popular. Art, that it could be argued is incomplete without someone reacting and becoming part of it. Here's just one of the many in my city of Liverpool.
Whilst this is modern CAS card, I can imagine an artsy one, complete with characters or flowers that the recipient has to move around.
Interactive can also incorporate cut outs, asking the viewer to move the pages, to peer through, to consider the change of the view.
This is an interesting project with some good ideas for basic interactive ideas, ideal if you want to start a project and aren't sure where to start.
We all love a video, and this link shows a short walkthrough this mini art journal with plenty of scope for interaction.
Having doors that open to reveal something hidden is a useful technique to encourage others to explore your art. This is a wonderful example.
How else could your art be interactive? What about lights? Alison Bomber created a beautiful piece of art that lights up too. How could you incorporate lights into your artistic endeavours?
If you're game for something a little more complex, you could look at kinetic cards, sculptures or pieces. These require thought and a little basic engineering, but imagine the results?! This clever artist creates spectacular gifts that move and reveal and turn (look at the handle on the bottom right for the clue to how it all moves!).
Still on the theme of moving parts, pop-up elements would fit perfectly into this topic. The most basic of pop-up styles can simply involve a 'hinged' square that you can add images to. This simple treatment of a pop-up might give you ideas of how you might use your own words and stamped images.
Here's another example that you might feel is better verging towards your style..
We could hardly talk about interactive art without me encouraging you to be interactive with this post. You might want to interact by pressing a button to watch a video! As I was thinking about this topic, Etsuko's wonderful Infinity Flip project came to mind, and I thought you might love another look at this clever technique, which if you had it in your hands, I suspect it might keep you engaged for quite a while!
We're hoping that this look at interactivity might inspire all sorts of ideas flowing around your head. How could you incorporate being interactive in your art, after all, it's wonderful when art is seen and shared with others?
Does this topic push your creative buttons? We would LOVE you to share what you get up to with us! A great place is tagging us on Instagram @paperartsy or why not join us and post in the PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. We love to see what you make!
