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In this climate, artists became increasingly interested in integrating technology into their work. While technology clearly played a significant role in 20th century arts (such as photography, film, and video, as well as various fine arts genres), it was not until Bell Labs scientist Billy KlŸver placed the potential of advanced engineering into the hands of artists in New York that integrated works of art and technology began to flourish. KlŸver conceived the notion of equal collaboration between artist and engineer. He pioneered forms of art and technology that would have been unimaginable to the artist without the engineerÕs cooperation and creative involvement. With Robert Rauschenberg, KlŸver created several of the earliest artworks to integrate electronic media and to encourage a participatory role for the audience, including Oracle (1963-65) and Soundings (1968).

In 1966 KlŸver co-founded E.A.T. (Experiments in Art and Technology) to bring artists and engineers together to create new works. E.A.T.Õs most ambitious production was the Pepsi-Pavilion, designed for the Osaka Expo Õ70 in Japan Ð a tremendously ambitious collaborative, multimedia project that involved over 75 artists and engineers. As KlŸver explained, audience participation was at the heart of their interests: "The initial concern of the artists who designed the Pavilion was that the quality of the experience of the visitor should involve choice, responsibility, freedom, and participation. The Pavilion would not tell a story or guide the visitor through a didactic, authoritarian experience. The visitor would be encouraged as an individual to explore the environment and compose his own experience."