FROM SPECTATOR TO PARTICIPANT: AUDIENCE INTERACTION AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE IN DIGITAL ART
Abstract
Digital technologies have significantly transformed the conditions of artistic production, exhibition, and reception, reshaping the relationship between artworks and audiences. In contemporary digital art, the viewer’s role shifts from a passive observer to an active participant in the artistic process. This study examines how audience interaction influences aesthetic experience and meaning-making in interactive and immersive digital artworks. Using a qualitative research approach based on literature review and case study analysis, the research focuses on works by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Camille Utterback, Jeffrey Shaw, teamLab, and Random International. These examples demonstrate how technological systems such as sensors, software-based environments, and virtual or augmented reality enable real-time engagement between artwork and audience. The findings suggest that interaction operates across aesthetic, conceptual, and experiential dimensions, introducing variability into artworks and intensifying bodily, cognitive, and emotional engagement, while positioning the audience as an active contributor to meaning.
Keywords
Digital Art, Audience İnteraction, Participatory Art, Aesthetic Experience, İnteractive Media
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