Artists are transforming gallery spaces at the Arlington Arts Center to explore the concept of play. Through contemporary art installations, “Play” examines what playing means to artists and to society. The show runs from July 11 through Oct. 10. –Victoria Gaffney
Playing is universal. For children, it’s often an imaginative endeavor with make-believe worlds and fantasy. Adults, on the other hand, often play less, and usually when they do, it’s in the form of creative pursuits such as art.
The idea of play is something that has captivated Karyn Miller, director of exhibitions at Arlington Arts Center, for some time. When she was young, children simply played, without any rules or structure. Today, children have playdates and scheduled time set aside. Play is more prescriptive, she explains. After researching these changes, she came across a reference to the current state as a “national play crisis.” Children don’t play in a carefree, unstructured way anymore, and adults often feel they can’t play at all in today’s career-driven world.
Miller wondered what these changes might mean for artists, so she created “Play,” which features the work of mid-Atlantic artists in different gallery spaces, each exploring play in a particular light. Artists are creating everything from traditional art forms like paintings and photographs to more abstract modern installations. Many of the exhibits also look at play as a vehicle for interaction, which manifests itself in projects such as artist-designed video games.
“The show looks at play in a couple different ways,” Miller says, “One being something that artists do in their studios, the sort of generative problem solving process, figuring out how to work with materials or ideas.” The artists work in various mediums, each creating their own unique approach to the theme of playing.
Scott Pennington, one of the artists, has a background in woodworking and building and works at an interior design firm. He’s using his skills to transform his 20-foot-by-30-foot gallery space into an interactive art installation. Similar to the national play crisis, he refers to an “ongoing state of emergency” resulting from society’s rigid structure. For his space he wants to capture the aesthetic of something he feels embodies the spirit of play: the classic carnival. A fair offers a “temporary wonderland” and a place to escape from the everyday experience, he explains. As a result, he is trying to create a “carnival sanctuary,” a meditative space to sit with a calming fountain and carnival-themed abstractions.
Artists Annette Isham and Zac Willis are working together on their exhibit focusing on play as a competitive sport activity. They’re including a video they made last year of a field goal kicking competition between the two of them. In this film, they recorded their pre- and postgame banter in addition to the actual competition. Having attended grad school and worked on several projects together, they have a spirited camaraderie well-suited to a show about play. “I think we collaborate for various different reasons, but one of them is to have that kind of playful attitude,” Isham says. They’re adding other games to the exhibit, such as a tomahawk throw, and are planning to design an installation complete with videos, photos and sculptures.
“We’re always looking at ways artists can be innovative and do something new and turn something upside down and inside out,” Miller says. Whether it’s running around outside, going to a fair, engaging in competitive sports or experimenting with different art mediums, play has endless possibilities. It’s just a matter of throwing caution to the wind and letting imagination take the reins.
(July 2015)
