Om du lyder : En studie av interaktivitetens villkor och verkningar utifrån tre performancebaserade verk

The aim of this thesis is to examine interactivity in the context of performance-based interactive art. The questions asked are: what are the conditions of interactivity, how interactivity happens, and what artistic results it may yield. The method is an analysis based on close studies of three performance-based interactive artworks by applying theories of interactivity, audience participation, and collaboration. First, current theories are outlined, after which, the three artworks are introduced in detail. Next, the artworks are examined, thematically rather than individually, expanding on parameters such as the degree of artistic direction of the artwork, the degree of agency allowed to the spectator in their interaction with the work, and the idea of the “passive” spectator as being “activated” by interactive art. It is shown that the actualization of the interactive gesture inscribed within the work depends on the spectator’s subjectivity and obedience to said gesture. Thus, the conditions of the interaction are not decided by the work/artist alone, but also and equally, by the spectator. Consequently, the actualized interactivity may not immediately correspond with the (possible) authorial intent and may even be unexpected or "infelicitous." The problematic of the thesis falls within the scope of current discourse concerning the striving for interactivity between the work of art and its spectator/audience. While that discourse has often been focused on authorial intent or has implied an ideal spectator, this thesis points to the significance of subjectivity with regards to interactivity and thereby adds increased complexity to the concept of interactivity