In terms of its visibility in the mass media or in the art world, it may, indeed, seem to be a newcomer. However, interactive technology was discussed and developed much earlier in the research and development community. The questioning of the role of the artist, the work, the audience, the market and the relationship between art and society by the dadaists, the constructivists, the surrealists and others prepared the ground. The pre-digital work of pioneers like Shaw and Hershman bears evidence of this. Present day artists by no means ignore their parentage.
Interactive artworks celebrate high tech.
They belong to the computer fair, the science center and the corporate headquarters, but not to the art museum. There isn't any serious role for interactive artworks in the art world. This was partly a consequence of the context in which pioneers like Myron Krueger had worked and first been appreciated. In the mass media, interactive art is often featured in the context of science and technology, rather than art and culture. The situation reflects the customary inertia of the art world, which has hardly legitimized video art, just 25 years after its inception.