MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Artists LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner (thecampaignbook.com) use the internet, specifically social media, to engage audiences in participatory art. Recent projects have taken place in both the physical and virtual worlds with the artists encouraging audiences to participate in both realms. In response to this invitation for connection, the audience forms a community around the shared experience as they witness the exhibitions together. The use of social media by these artists indicates their intent to use the internet to extend the physical performance into a virtual community and include the audience in the performance. Using hashtags to name their projects, they immediately create an internet space for the performance and encourage a community of connected audience members. The most recent project #TAKEMEANYWHERE (takemeanywhere.vice.com) was only made possible through audience participation. The artists shared their physical coordinates via their Twitter account (@thecampaignbook) and invited anyone to physically pick them up and take them somewhere. Viewers could follow the artists on their journey while the artists shared visual content from their travels on their social media sites. The artists do not engage the audience on these sites, however members of the viewing community connect with each other around the shared experience of watching the performance. This paper will explore some of the projects and performances, highlighting the intentional and creative use of the internet to encourage audience connection both directly with the artists and with each other. The presentation will include a discussion of the different internet platforms used by the artists, which include interactive websites, streaming media,social media and cloud computing.