Artists and designers in the area of interactive art have been conducting research in human-machine
interaction for a number of years now. Interaction and interface design have not only had their roots in
human computer engineering but have also seen parallel developments in media art. With products of
interactive technologies increasingly spreading into our lives, it is interesting to see where early notions of
interactivity and user participation came from and how artists over the past 40 or more years have already
looked at the merits and problems of audience involvement. In this lecture artistic, social and political
notions of interactivity will be addressed and specific examples of the artistic works by Sommerer and
Mignonneau as well as the Interface Cultures Department at the University of Art in Linz will be presented.