Aug 10, 2014

Cuppetelli and Mendoza; Nervous Structure (field)



"--- And yet, despite the unmistakable centrality of the viewer within On Disappearance, experiencing the work is notably passive. Eyebeam and Astala position the work as an “interactive installation” that “aims to destroy the norm of the traditional, cinematic black cube, wherein the role of the spectator is limited to that of passive observer, experiencing mediated reality.” Undoubtedly, viewers see themselves transported into the work and the animation’s protagonist addresses them, but do these levels of engagement fully qualify as active behaviour? No more so than looking in a mirror or partaking in a one-sided conversation. It seems humorous, and poignant, that a work built entirely around notions of interaction needs so little from its audience — as if you didn’t really need to be there at all."