[zachrose]

I think it has to do with what you’re considering as artwork! There’s a traditional distinction between “fine arts” and “applied arts.”

Fine art, like painting, is almost definitionally not supposed to be touched.

Applied arts include fibers (knitting, weaving), ceramics, jewelry and metalwork, etc. Stuff that’s meant to be pleasing and functional.

Whether something should be touched is almost _the thing_ that moves a field from one category to the other.

Applied artists, and their product designer cousins, will spend a lot of time exploring and pursuing tactile qualities.

[drewcoo]

Absolutely textiles!

And if woodworking isn't some kind of tactile art, why do people always want to touch wooden furniture or art? Always. Just watch it happen. I'd like to know if that's how all apes react or just we.

I would argue that food "mouth feel" is pretty important (as is the feeling of eating with hands - that's something to turn into art for a third of the planet daily and the rest of us on lucky occasion).

Arguably, whatever's going on with haptics in VR is art. Even if it's porn. Porn is almost as good for spreading art as it is for spreading tech!