The Interactive Image

The Interactive Image was a computer graphics based installation created by faculty, graduate students, staff and collaborators of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988. It was designed for exhibition at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The works presented are now on permanent display at the Boston Computer Museum.

The Interactive Image installation consisted of a large panel holding six built-in computer play stations, each with a bench for two, a control panel with buttons and a trackball or joy-stick for user interaction, a 12-inch monitor for user viewing, and a large monitor for broader spectator viewing. The installation presented a number of applications, including image resolution/ communication, fractals, graftals, interpolated animation, symmetry/tessellation, and pseudo-color. Users interacted with on-screen graphics to manipulate various parameters to control the graphic results.

Based on video game design principles, users could contribute interactively to an artwork, while being given the opportunity to explore the participating computer graphics technologists' research. Three levels of complexity and a 'learn' module for each level was employed as the model of interactive educations, bringing both the artist and the prospective student closer to the subject matter.