Introduction to Participation

What are some of the ways that participatory art differs from individually produced art, historically and in the present?

The meaning of art as it stands in the present day is very different from what was considered art say 40 years ago. Participatory art requires a two way communication between the artist and its subjects. In MadV’s case, it was those who responded to his original One World video post. In the past art has been a reflection of an individual’s creativity whereas today, people are able to draw from others creativity and have the chance to partake in an art form they may have never been previously exposed to. Whether this makes present day art any less art then in the past is something that is often left up to the individual to decide. The difference between the two however is obvious in many instances. Art in the past was always left up to one creative being, rather than a mass group of people. After one grasps the concept of participatory art it is easy to understand that it has been around much longer than most people realize, the only difference now are the channels to which this art can be distributed. YouTube has created a phenomenon among internet users that allows most individual’s to create what they feel to be art, not what society deems art. Participation goes on to discuss how this trend will only become more prevalent as more and more spectators become contributors.