As explored in the module videos, there exists a form of art that is not simply created to observe, but to interact with. In 2010, Paul Ramírez Jonas created an city-wide interactive art piece called Key to the City as a historical reference to a key to the city presented to dignitaries as a symbol of hospitality, freedom, and trust. A public key was distributed and given around New York that opened the holder to various locations around the city as a reward for common actions and a reflection on common space. The work connects the community by encouraging engagement and common experience.
The concept of creating interactive art that connects the community has continued in recent years. In 2016, Maryellis Bunn opened a museum of ice cream in New York featuring exhibits of gummy bears, cookie dough, bright colors, sprinkles, etc. that transforms what would be a “viewer” at a typical museum into a piece of the art. Bunn’s goal was to connect millennial audiences by creating something new to do in New York within an environment promoting interaction between strangers, a design philosophy term she coined “social squared”. Did she achieve this goal? Maybe, but regardless she taped into today’s cultural current aimed at aesthetic, photography, and social media. Her pop-up museums have become exclusive and trendy as a realization of childhood fantasies, as experiences that engage sight, smell, taste and touch, and most notable as extremely popular backdrops for selfies and photos. If photography is considered art, then essentially Bunn has created an interactive art work that acts as a platform for visitors to create their own art through pictures taken in the museum and social media provides the platform to display that artwork.
