Why Most Interactive Public Art Lacks Genuine Thrill

An insightful opinion article suggests that numerous interactive public art installations lack authentic thrill because they remove elements of risk and personal choice. The writer differentiates between superficial, pre-scripted experiences and those that incorporate 'risky play'—a notion highlighted in a 2024 study published in Planning Theory & Practice, which describes it as exhilarating physical engagement characterized by uncertainty and potential injury. Notable examples of effective risky play include Cj Hendry's 'Keff Joons' (April 2025, Brooklyn), a 20-foot inflatable maze devoid of safety features; Tomás Saraceno's 'Free the Air: How to hear the universe in a spider/web' (2022, The Shed, New York), featuring a 95-foot-wide suspended net; and Saraceno's 'In Orbit' (Düsseldorf), a layered net positioned 20 meters above a plaza. Other mentioned artists are Sven Pfeiffer with 'Risky Playground' at Kyoto Art Center, Numen/For Use's tape and net installations, and Carsten Höller's slides at the Danish Architecture Center and Moderna Museet in Stockholm. The author argues that genuine interaction occurs when visitors assess their own boundaries, unlike installations that merely function as backdrops for photographs.