Abstract
There is a long history of creative encounters between tangible interface design and the Arts. However, in comparison with media art, tangible interaction seems to be quite anchored into many of the traditional methodologies imported from human–computer interaction (HCI). How can the Arts help tangible interaction design? Building on Søren Pold’s Interface Aesthetics, a re-orientation of the role of the artist towards a critical examination of our research medium—tangible interaction—is proposed. In this essay, the benefits of incorporating artistic research and its methodologies into our field are described. With these methodologies it is possible to better assess experiential aspects of interaction—a relevant attribute which traditional HCI approaches cannot afford. In order to inform our community, three examples of critical artworks are comparatively studied and discussed.
Highlights
Digital Arts and Tangible Interaction DesignIn 2016, the media art festival Ars Electronica [1] gave special relevance to the field of tangible interaction design, presenting the project Radical Atoms [2] together with other works by the MITTangible Media Group
There exists a history of intersections between the media arts and the field of tangible interaction design
The contribution of this essay lies in suggesting a re-orientation of the role of the artist towards the creation of “critical interfaces”: interfaces which are critical with our own research medium
Summary
In 2016, the media art festival Ars Electronica [1] gave special relevance to the field of tangible interaction design, presenting the project Radical Atoms [2] together with other works by the MIT. Novel developments in tangible and embodied interaction have gone hand in hand with new ground in the Arts and vice-versa This crossroads of cultures was emphasized after the so-called practice turn in interaction design during the first decade of the 2000s [8]. The contribution of this essay lies in suggesting a re-orientation of the role of the artist towards the creation of “critical interfaces”: interfaces which are critical with our own research medium (e.g., tangible interaction design). This re-orientation encourages the shift from a traditional vision of artists as mere producers of aesthetic content to a more updated and useful vision of the Arts fully engaged in research. Three examples of recent critical interfaces are analyzed, compared, and discussed in order to exhibit some of their design patterns
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