Encountering Creative Moments within Interactive Environments

This thesis investigates the impact of implicit frameworks that were observed to shape the nature of public engagement within two interactive artworks. It is argued in the thesis that by replacing the perception of institutional authority with that of permission, the implied structures that are presented by installation content combine with the encultured frameworks of visitors. Factors can then be established that encourage and sustain embodied interaction and social participation in those that visit this genre of environment. The arguments that are presented in the thesis root theoretical paradigms into visual arts theory from a number of disciplines that include neuroscience, psychology, sociology and video game theory, among others.

In order that public engagement with interactive content could be better understood, two bespoke and adaptable art installations were constructed specifically for the research process. The first of these, titled Soundweb, was a sensor-driven experience that responded to visitor movement by projecting the images and sounds of wildlife into a darkened room. The second, titled Interplay, streamed live video images of visitors onto the walls of an enclosed space through an array of cameras and projectors. Each installation was presented as an artwork at Playeum’s Children’s Centre for Creativity, in Singapore, a venue that provides open-ended experiences for children up to the age of twelve and their adults. Factors that encouraged and sustained visitor engagement within Soundweb and Interplay were identified by observing physical relationships that emerged during their encounters. Levels of interaction were evaluated by measuring the duration and complexity of embodied responses as individuals engaged with the content of the artworks and with each other. This thesis contributes to knowledge by identifying fundamental factors that are necessary to sustain interaction and social participation in visitors, and presents a re-theorised approach to understanding their engagement within interactive installations in public venues.