Art's "Interactive Appreciation" and "Oogiri" are about 80% the same thing
The other day, I spoke with a researcher. This person had gained professional experience, returned to school for an MBA, and is now researching how Oogiri (a Japanese comedy format involving witty responses to prompts) can be applied to business problem-solving and idea generation.
In our conversation, the topic of "Interactive Appreciation", a way of enjoying art, came up.
Instead of silently staring at works in a museum, it involves people who have seen the same work sharing where they focused and what they felt. I have experienced this myself about twice in the past.
This method is very similar to Oogiri, isn't it?
What is Interactive Appreciation?
As the name suggests, Interactive Appreciation is enjoying the entire experience of not just viewing a work alone, but "viewing the same work with someone else and exchanging words based on that experience" as an art appreciation activity.
The content of the dialogue is not just about impressions of the work, but also about thoughts and ideas that came up through the appreciation process. In such cases, it is common to exchange words through a "shared question".
What do you think the character in this painting is saying at this very moment?
If you were to give this a title, what words would fit?
You enjoy the dialogue that arises from exchanging the "viewer's own answers" to such questions.
"I think it's like this." "Me too, me too!"
"Wait, isn't it this way?" "Oh, really?!"
Through communication like this, there is a way of seeing and enjoying art as a result of the dialogue here and now, which is different from when you just appreciate the art in front of you alone.
This is doing exactly the same thing as the mindset used when responding to "a photo and a caption" or Oogiri prompts.
Even if the purpose is different—dialoguing and sharing based on the work—in that respect, Oogiri and Interactive Appreciation are very close.
The "Oogiri lover's habit" = turning things into prompts on their own
When people who love Oogiri go to museums or aquariums for leisure, they sometimes end up seeing the exhibits in front of them as "prompts".
"If you were to give this painting a new title, what would it be?"
"This fish not moving on the sand, what is it saying in its heart?"
The perspective of humorously capturing art is a natural function of the brain that enjoys responding to prompts—the "Oogiri brain." You just can't help but want to set a prompt and think of an answer.
On the other hand, when art fans engage in Interactive Appreciation, there are moments when they are thinking similarly.
Is the goal to make the other person laugh and be entertained?
Is the goal to appreciate the work in front of you more deeply?
—The goal is different, but the brain circuits and thought processes being used are almost the same.
What they have in common is the "fun of sharing." The intersection of Oogiri Method® and Interactive Appreciation
The appeal of Oogiri lies not in a comedian's one-liner, but in "sharing a prompt and having participants come up with their own answers."
For the same theme,
an answer that gets empathy like "I know, that's so true!"
Answers that surprise people with, 'I never thought of it from that perspective!'
It is precisely because it is shared in a space, and precisely because someone else is there with you, that new laughter, enjoyment, discoveries, and surprises are born.
This is the same thing that interactive art appreciation does with art.
What Oogiri Method® emphasizes is not competing for sense or determining winners, losers, or superiority, but the very act of 'finding, discovering, and creating fun through wordplay.'
By gifting the seeds of fun you have discovered and sensed to others,laughing together and sharingis where the value lies.
Interactive art appreciation should also be an activity where you make each other's time better by sharing what you felt with those around you, rather than interpreting art alone.
At the root of both lies a common spirit: 'bringing different sensibilities to the same subject.'
Let's take it in, feel it, and share it.
In that sense, interactive art appreciation and Oogiri are very similar in that they involve 'dialogue and sharing while facing the same subject.'
Even if the goals are different, the thought circuits being used are almost identical.
The essence of Oogiri Method® is not to 'make others laugh unilaterally,' but to 'laugh together' and 'share.' In a sense, Oogiri might have originally held something close to the art domain within it.