I'm a SCAD student right now and I'm taking an intro to Interactive Media class with Andrew Hieronymi (his website). Outside of being a professor, Andrew makes installation video games. Absent of any narration, Andrew's work presents the user with the most primitive situations imaginable, successfully recreating the most intense moments in certain types of games (such as JUMP before this platform falls, HIT this ball coming at you).
He briefly mentioned a little dodad about a curator friend of his not understanding his work. Apparently there is a lack of consensus on new media art being art worthy of curation and consideration alongside the more established art mediums. He mentioned interactivity being a barrier. People don't necessarily intuitively know how to interact with a computer program. I believe that he is right and I'd like to extend his point.
We know how to make 2d and 3d art. Human civilization has given us quite the inheritance as far as that is concerned. Furthermore, we're getting pretty good at making 4d art (proof). What is exciting and offputting about new media art is that once again we're developing a new language of expression. That is expression through technology with technology. Video games have been the pioneer in this respect. Inevitably we are reaching a plateau with traditional controller game play mechanics. Increasingly game developers fluff up the situations they are presenting the "gamer" with instead of developing new ones (hence sequel mania). But regardless, the idea of interacting with a computer (implying an artificial intelligence) is a very young idea, one that is only going to get more profound if not more frightening. So while right now what we can express through new media art (video games specifically) might be crude, it is going to be kick ass or frightening as hell very soon.
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