This paper reports the responses of nursing home residents who live in a psychogeriatric ward to the abstract interactive art installation ‘Morgendauw’, which was specifically designed for this study. All stakeholders were involved in designing and implementing Morgendauw. The artwork seems able to evoke responses in both the residents and their caregivers, but the amount and duration of the responses observed during the study were limited. 15 interactions over the course of 14 h were noted and almost all of them were initiated by the nursing home staff, physiotherapy students or visitors (n = 12). Interactions lasted for about 3 min on average. Although the nursing home residents initially did not seem to notice the artwork, the threshold of acknowledging and approaching the artwork was quickly overcome when staff nudged or directed the residents’ attention towards the artwork. Beyond this point, nursing home residents generally needed little explanation of the interface to interact with the artwork. The location in which Morgendauw was placed during the study or the characteristics of the installation seemed to create a threshold. Further research should focus on the importance and the effects of context when designing and implementing an interactive art installation in a nursing home environment.
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The paper investigates how an audience can be challenged to 'perform as interface' pointing towards the activation of a certain attitude; an active mind-set which constantly leads the attention back to the experience of our body; to perceive, critically read and make sense of this experience in relation to the interaction with(in) the technologically mediated world [16]. As a case, the paper focuses on the interactive installation "CHAIR-JUMP-CHUTE" and on the various ways the audience was induced to interact with it. The paper identifies triggers stimulating the participant to become fully - as in physically and mentally - engaged in the interaction with a technological installation in the semi-public setting of a cultural institute. Furthermore, it explores how the perceived thresholds (like other people watching, physical challenges or "apparative resistance" [9], become more than 'elements to overcome' as they can also be seen as giving meaning and depth to the interactive experience. The paper sums up what factors trigger this challenging and at the same time demanding (embodied) interaction, in order for this interaction to become an important actual / critical part of the aesthetic experience of interactive art, as it challenges the participant to perform as interface.
DOCUMENT
The paper investigates how an audience can be challenged to 'perform as interface' pointing towards the activation of a certain attitude; an active mind-set which constantly leads the attention back to the experience of our body; to perceive, critically read and make sense of this experience in relation to the interaction with(in) the technologically mediated world [16]. As a case, the paper focuses on the interactive installation "CHAIR-JUMP-CHUTE" and on the various ways the audience was induced to interact with it. The paper identifies triggers stimulating the participant to become fully - as in physically and mentally - engaged in the interaction with a technological installation in the semi-public setting of a cultural institute. Furthermore, it explores how the perceived thresholds (like other people watching, physical challenges or "apparative resistance" [9], become more than 'elements to overcome' as they can also be seen as giving meaning and depth to the interactive experience. The paper sums up what factors trigger this challenging and at the same time demanding (embodied) interaction, in order for this interaction to become an important actual / critical part of the aesthetic experience of interactive art, as it challenges the participant to perform as interface.
DOCUMENT