Abstract:

This paper seeks to address the discourse of the blurring of public and private space in new media art, specifically in Mouchette.org and Life Sharing by Eva and Franco Matteos.  Both of these pieces utilize an understanding of the social systems inherent in new media art as a set of relations that require the user to complete the work of art. By using the social relations in their work they have created, as Nicolas Bourriaud elucidates it, a relational work of art. This in turn set up a system in which the art becomes an open work of art and requires the user to complete the system of relations, which utilizes different modes of interactivity. By examining each piece through Carolyn Jones’ Taxonomy of New Media Interactivity, this paper explores the modes in which both Mouchette.org and Life sharing create a discourse via their interactivity.  Furthermore, this paper posits that the very set of relations between the user and the work of art put forth in both Mouchette.org and Life Sharing creates a discourse on the boundaries of public and private space and this discourse is inherent in the work of art that utilizes technology to complete the work of art.