SWEET INTERACTIVE ANTICIPATION: UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AESTHETIC ANTICIPATION AND INTERACTIVITY IN INTERACTIVE ART

Abstract

This thesis investigates the relationship between interactivity and aesthetic response in the context of interactive art. The related work can be categorised in three groups: 1) identifying new theories to discuss the aesthetics of interactive art, 2) understanding the interactor's aesthetic response through HCI, and 3) understanding the player's aesthetic response through game studies. Although this work has laid the foundation for a new area of research, many aspects have not yet been examined. The thesis investigates an understudied aspect, anticipation, as an aesthetic response of interactive art. This research uses close reading to examine four selected interactive works. The main contribution of this thesis is the suggestion that aesthetic anticipation can be elicited by interactivity through the ways in which control, consequences of actions, time, and uncertainty are interrelated. We also identified four distinct ways in which the provision of control can be used to evoke aesthetic anticipation.