Toys!
Anna Altman
If childhood is a time of whimsy, imagination, and invention, it is no wonder so much artwork harkens back to this early and irretrievable period of free play. Certain artists have reveled in the project of reconstructing children’s games, finding various exuberant paths back to the unfettered world of overflowing toy chests and impenetrable jury-rigged forts, and inviting us to join them in the tree-house.
[1] Jim Dine’s Child’s Blue Wall (1962) is a classic piece of youth-centered art. A serene skyscape–a fuzzy, pastel blue, speckled with faded stars–dominates the canvas; a bright nightlight juts into the foreground, reminding us of childhood fears and the talismans we wield against them; a stark, narrow light switch, fixed too high for a child to reach, shows us the realm of adult capability and responsibility that lies beyond the child’s short reach. Dine’s Child’s Blue Wall evokes nostalgia for simple fantasy and poignant fear. But we can look without touching, gaze without engaging. What follows is a sampling of artists who likewise ask us to play along.
[2] Bozart Toys–now defunct–was an award-winning company that commissioned established visual artists to design creative, non-violent, and artistic toys. They allowed artists to extend their scope beyond the gallery system to a broader (and younger) audience. Bozart gave artists license to do what they do best: to twist, deform and reinvent the toys they played with as children. The Kaleidoscope House–which was displayed at Deitch Project’s Grand Street Space in 2000–was created by artist Laurie Simmons and architect Peter Wheelwright. It is a 1:12 scale dollhouse, complete with vibrantly hued movable plastic walls that overlap to create a rainbow of colors–a sliding, architectural kaleidoscope. Simmons and Wheelwright are intrigued by domesticity and, more specifically, the changing dynamics of home and family.
[3] For "Philosophical Toys"–an exhibition at Apex Art, June of 2005–curator Sina Najafi described two paths of pedagogy, the oft-proclaimed "Path of Pain," and the curious, if disrespected, "Path of Wonder." For this show, Najafi elected to pursue the Path of Wonder. The exhibition included works by Friedrich Fröebel, Jeannine Mosely, and Shea Zellweger. According to Najafi, "the works featured prove that if combined with visual and material pleasure, learning even the most abstract thought can be made into a wondrous experience: literally, child’s play."
[4] Since the early 70s, Allen Ruppersberg has been making artwork that functions as a puzzle: each of his pieces arranges a collection of elements to make a meaningful whole. A recent series entitled "Fishing is Fun" was exhibited at the Christine Burgin Gallery in early 2005. The title piece of the series, modeled after a puzzle from the 50s, epitomizes Ruppersberg’s practice, wherein he draws on his own extensive collection of pulp fiction, comic books, and posters for inspiration. Ruppersberg forces the viewer–now "the puzzler"–to take an active role in reconstructing patterns and meanings, and recreating the conceptual forest from the trees.
[5] It seems that Christine Burgin can’t get enough of "play" art: another show, entitled "Your Fate," opened at the gallery in Spring 2004. In the exhibition, Allan McCollum and Matt Mullican fashioned a system for answering "unanswerable questions" and predicting the future based on an eclectic panoply of occult symbols and tools of divination. This spiritualist kit included a set of specially imprinted dice accompanied by a manual, which may be used for readings of individual destinies. "Your Fate" suggests that through a combination of play and art–pursuits often defined by frivolity or leisure–we can address difficult life questions, questions that can only be answered within the realm of speculation.
[6] Hope Ginsburg’s exhibition, "Double Dare," displayed at the Julia Friedman Gallery in June 2005, takes a different approach to the world of childhood play. Consisting of an installation and a series of photographs, Ginsburg’s exhibition centers on the game show "Double Dare:" a Nickelodeon program that asked 12-year-olds to perform a variety of absurd stunts, such as wading through kiddie pools filled with cereal and milk, to win fabulous prizes, and, of course, amuse their peers at home. For most, "Double Dare" is merely a pop culture artifact from the 80s, but the show has great personal significance for Ginsburg, who was a contestant in 1986 with two of her best friends in. Since then, Ginsburg and her friends have developed enduring relationships, which exhibition traces through the creative and personal development of each individual. The exhibit poses questions about the way our culture is shaped by the intersecting arcs of media, personal relationships, and individual creativity as it is set against the background of the most outrageous and absurd kind of play. As Ginsburg’s experience demonstrates, childhood play proves to be of central importance to adult life as well as to the artistic and creative impulse.
