Idea post #4: Play

sorry this is late; I was hit by a car.

Play

I need more play in my work. I am dealing with children and childhood memories. I am figuring out how to set up scenes for my work but I need to silliness of play to show through as well.

Oppenheimer, Frank. "Adult Play." Exploratorium Feb.-Mar. 1980. Print.

This short article is about how to be playful as an adult. Oppenheimer talks about how he works in a gallery and everyday he is able to play at work. Oppenheimer asks a UC Berkeley professor, “Are there any things which a young person must learn before it is too late to learn them?” and Bob Karplus, the professor responds: “Maybe people have to learn how to play before it’s too late.” (Oppenheimer). I believe as art students we are forced to play every day. Then slowly our play becomes our work. We must use our imaginations to create the work we must turn in and be graded on. But then there are still releases we must have for our personal play. Dr. Stuart Brown, on The Take Away radio show says that as humans we must find our “pleasurable state of play” everyday. In some way that we are there must be playfulness in what we do. It allows our minds to grow even as adults. Humans are built for play. Dr. Brown says that play is the fertilizer for the brain.

So play is important for every type of person no matter how old. I feel that sometimes I as an artist get too serious. I feel that I need to be more playful and loose when I create new work. I am dealing with children and childhood as a theme so I need to not be as serious when creating this work. I need to reflect how a child’s mind works or at least have a childlike view when making this work. When dealing with adults I feel that there is a need for silliness. I want to capture my everyday silliness and put it into my work.

Oppenheimer, Frank. "Adult Play." Exploratorium Feb.-Mar. 1980. Print.

The Science of P-L-A-Y | PRI.ORG. John Hockenberry, Celeste Headlee, and Stuart Brown. PRI: Public Radio International: National and World News, Talk, Arts, Entertainment and Music. The Take Away, 17 Mar. 2009. Web. 30 Sept. 2010. .