problems of depiction: interactivity

harm van den dorpel ethereal self

Shown above is a still from Harm van den Dorpel’s Ethereal Self .com.
This website is an interactive depiction of a diamond.

It is a depiction because it looks like a diamond, but it is not a diamond, it is a representation of a diamond in 2-dimensional space.

It is interactive because it uses your webcam to create the illusion of light reflecting through a diamond.
When you move, the image changes.

Interactive depiction has been thoroughly explored in video games. Mario starts running when you press a button, and he runs faster when you hold 2 buttons. But video games are always goal oriented.

Interactivity is usually a means to an end. What if it is a destination?

When we look into the world, we are not distant observers, we are involved. Interactivity is an important dimension of representation, and an important part of our perception. Interactive depiction is an area that has hardly been explored in art. Hopefully we have only seen the beginning of it. There are many gestures and subjects still untouched.