The finishing touch to the semester:

The semester has gone by so quick and to have learnt a thing or two in the interactive media course in such a short amount of time was interesting and invaluable. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I was not expecting to do this amount of programming in the course. However, the course extends beyond the language of Max and is more focused on developing creative ideas. However, you cannot forget that there are limitations to software, and that more complex ideas are more at risk of falling short. This could be seen as something either negative or positive, but either way it’s still important to develop ideas that are less complicated.

What we can take from starting with a simpler approach is that we can execute our ideas a lot more effectively. For someone who has just taken as step into the door, this approach, like everything else in learning, is the best. Simple does not necessarily mean basic, stupid or bad; it just means there are not many mechanisms required to work the idea, and in some cases work out to be meaningful. I have mentioned this idea constantly in my previous reflections in this subject, and that idea was the ‘Box of Smiles’ by Yoko Ono. Ever since starting the semester, this idea is a constant reminder how simple, beautiful and powerful interactive art can be. Interactive art allows us to explore many creative avenues of art, and I would consider it to be one of the most impactful out of all the art forms that exist today.

There are not many things, in climate of art, that really send a strong statement like interactive art. It is the kind of art that utilises our five senses to convey a message, or lack thereof. It is that participation that is required of the audience that makes it so powerful. The ability to physically and psychologically engage with the audience is very unique to interactive art and it inspires me to conceptualise beyond the works that I currently do, photography and making videos, but also adapt what I have learnt from the art form back into my own work.

In terms of the work that I have done so far in the subject, I am going to be honest, I would not have thought I would be creating such ideas. The biggest learning curve was understanding the software, but after that, the ideas came right in. The study I enjoyed the most conceptually was the controversial project. That was done in a group with a few other fellow peers. I personally believe that it could have been executed a lot better. This degree of disappointment could somehow be related to the fact that we were imagining the project to work well as an installment. Considering that the study was thought of earlier in the semester I felt that our limited of knowledge of Max held us back into making something more presentable and impactful. However, I firmly believe that such idea would have been better off as installment regardless of the fact. This is something to consider I guess in the not so distant future.

The study that I felt most accomplished in was the one where I wanted to make the most annoying puzzle, and indeed it was. It was annoying, not because it is super complicated, but how ridiculous the parameters were set out for the user. Out of all the studies, this game was the most refined and polished, but could still do with a lot more refining. I felt that this study was most appropriate for a user on a computer as we commonly associate puzzles and games on a computer. I also learnt the most about the language of the software in this study. Making this game has allowed me to apply most of the things that I have learnt in the course, which is why this study was the most impactful in the time I had in this subject.

Finishing this subject has opened new doors for new ideas. Any new-found knowledge along the way of my educational career has allowed me to improve my creativity, and this subject is certainly no exception. The idea that the audience becomes the art is definitely cool and interesting and is something anyone could learn and appreciate because it involves us as the participant to make the art. Furthermore, using new software has taught me how to learn and adapt my creativity to new platforms. In rapidly expanding and changing world, It is good to be uncomfortable with the unfamiliar and mold our creativity in many different ways.