Understanding 'open work' in interactive art

This paper concerns Umberto Eco's 'open work' as a methodology for Interactive Art. I examine open work in its original social and cultural contexts, and probe its potential as a methodology. Eco's 'open work' is concerned with the process of making of art rather than with any finished artwork. He posits two components of open work: a multiplicity of meanings, and audience participation. In open work, artists create artwork in a way that allows ihe audience to construct multiple meanings. This is a contingent process, and the degree of openness is the measure of its contingency. lnteractive Art's digital technology makes open work a promising methodology, but this requires two lavers of openness: contemplative (Ec:os's concept) and structural (a specific quality of lnteractive Art). And finally, open work can use computing as a creative process and can enhance the artistic goals of community and play.