How Far will the interaction between Artwork and the Viewer go?

Lynn Hershman’s essay “The Fantasy Beyond Control” discusses the blurring between reality and fiction through electronic media and an interactive audience. In her essay, she discusses her two key works, Deep Contact and Lorna, which illustrate how viewers can reach through a computer’s “fourth wall” and enter a virtual reality. Hershman expresses the need to break free from traditional audience roles of passive recipients and instead to navigate through a piece of artworks many narrative paths. She emphasizes the major role technology plays in making interactive artwork possible and believes that as technology expands, that more opportunities for better interaction will occur between artwork and its viewers. Hershman also believes that one-day computer systems will reflect the personality of their users. There are endless possibilities in the future for interaction between artworks and its viewers.