Arjen Mulder: From Image to Interaction (2010)

In From Image to Interaction, Arjen Mulder traces evolutionary lines in the fine art of the past five hundred years that have led directly to the interactive art of today. He investigates the origins of modern art from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to Kandinsky, Mondrian and Paul Klee, whom he regards not only as great artists but above all as great media theorists. In the process, he discovers how the models these illustrious predecessors built are still actively being used in the fields of contemporary art known as electronic art, video art, machine art, digital art, media art, and even “the art formerly known as media art.” Step by step, Mulder develops a surprising perspective on the genealogy of art from 1910 to 2010 and the role and value of visual culture and design in the present. He analyses the feelings and experiences evoked by painting, photography, digital media and the interactive arts in a previously unseen manner. In compact, clear style he works out a theory of art not as an expression of the worldview of its time but as a discoverer and researcher of it.

Arjen Mulder’s previous books include the acclaimed Understanding Media Theory: Language, Image, Sound, Behavior (2004), used at numerous colleges and universities, as well as essay collections in Dutch such as Het fotografisch genoegen (“Photographic Pleasure”, 2000) and De vrouw voor wie Cesare Pavese zelfmoord pleegde (“The Woman Cesare Pavese Committed Suicide for”, 2005), which critics have praised for its originality. Arjen Mulder teaches media theory at the Utrecht Graduate School of Visual Art and Design (MaHKU) in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Moderation: Sabine Breitsameter