The aesthetics involved in producing interactive arts is a step beyond the aesthetics of traditional arts in the fact that computers are the paintbrushes of today. Interactive arts is also an opportunity for the computer or multimedia artist to investigate the unlimited boundaries of computers as well as utilize the skills and abilities of people from other fields such as programming and engineering, something that was never conceptualized in traditional art.

Interactive arts, much like the traditional arts, is all about the total immersion of the artist and his or her creation as well as the relationship between the viewer and the creation. Interactive artists and traditional artists alike can create works that require audiences to act as co-creators. Any work is incomplete without the viewers’ taking action. In a way, interactive art is a mere extension of conceptual art because it follows the basic principles of augmenting visual aesthetics and communication. The importance of producing art that all artists must stress is to focus more on the process and tools of art making and less on the particular products. How a piece of art or installation completed by a computer will be successful only if the viewer can define and understand the meaning.

It was difficult at first to decide if interactive art does differ from traditional art when it comes to aesthetic value. Some might argue that it is a whole new movement while others strongly believe that it is merely an extension of modern day conceptual art or even a form of performance art because it involves human to computer interaction, but it was Stephen Wilson, an interactive artist who managed his artwork on the computer in the 1980’s, who believed that it is up to the responsibility of the multimedia artist to utilize the abilities of the computers, explore all of its possibilities and at the same time maintain the aesthetic appeal that will maintain the viewer, even to go a step ahead in offering a more interpersonal relationship through the latest technology in communications and programming.

Levitated Design and Code is an organization that combines the elements of Adobe Flash design and animation with computer coding to create interactive art available on their website or in their case, “visual poetry and science.” Walking Things is an interactive art piece that allows you to change the shape of “insectoids” as they walk across the website’s window. What’s great about interactive art is that they are available in online galleries so you can have access to it at your leisure. The Museum of Computer Art is an online museum that offers a gallery of new media art and computer art from today’s well known multimedia artists but this is just one example of many online galleries that you can search and explore but of course there are some interactive art exhibitions that requires you to go to physical galleries. I suggest that you explore Levitated’s website and interact with their other works.

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