Narrative exploration via media art

Mika 'Lumi' Tuomola introduces a selected chronological collection of Media Lab's, Crucible Studio research group's artistic productions. The Art of Storytelling in New Media research group, Crucible Studio, was originally established in 2002 as a collaboration of the Media Lab with the Media Centre LUMB, when I was the visiting artist at Media Lab Helsinki. As the lead author of the artistic and practice-based research studio proposal, I also started to head it until now. The studio per se does not focus on (Media) Art, but on any generative, interactive and enactive use of narrative in New Media production and design. However, in the investigation of storytelling and drama, experimental Media Art productions - while usually maintaining their standing as art works of their own right as well- have been and are useful tools of exploration via research questions like: • How to bring both designers' I authors' and users' I participants' internal intentions into a dramatically interesting dialogue/chorus within a mediated interaction environment? • What kinds of media database, system, interaction and narrative logics may be able to generate a dramatic interactive experience with coherent audiovisual language? • What are the ethics of (narrative) aesthetics, when designed participatory processes orchestrate multiple points of view? • How have the audience genre expectations evolved (e.g. via games and social media) considering what an interactive/enactive drama/art experience is and how does it influence our design work?