| Homo Ludens Ludens is the third international exhibition LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial has organized as part of its exhibition cycle dedicated to the phenomena of gaming culture and the exploration of contemporary artistic strategies that comment on our contemporary society. Following the exhibitions Gameworld, that reflected the different sides and perspectives of the gaming creativity developed by artists nowadays, and Playware, that highlighted the playful and social character of interactive art, Homo Ludens Ludens now creates a setting that embraces these data and takes a step further by looking into the wider notion of play, its importance for our everyday lives, and its evolution in our digital times. |  |
Erich Berger, Laura Baigorri, and Daphne Dragona, co-curators
Homo Ludens Ludens is on view at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijon, Spain until September 22.
Derivart, El burbujómetro, 2007. Software art/ Installation. Courtesy of LABoral Centro de Arte.
Homo Ludens Ludens is the third international exhibition LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial has organized as part of its exhibition cycle dedicated to the phenomena of gaming culture and the exploration of contemporary artistic strategies that comment on our contemporary society. Following the exhibitions Gameworld, that reflected the different sides and perspectives of the gaming creativity developed by artists nowadays, and Playware, that highlighted the playful and social character of interactive art, Homo Ludens Ludens now creates a setting that embraces these data and takes a step further by looking into the wider notion of play, its importance for our everyday lives, and its evolution in our digital times.
Homo Ludens, or the “playful man,” was first identified by the scholar Johan Huizinga back in 1938. Following and being set against the notions of Homo Sapien, “the wise man,” and Homo Faber, “the man-maker,” the notion of Homo Ludens introduced the concept of play as a vital element of culture permeating society’s principal activities. Huizinga’s work makes us realize that the popular digital gaming territories of our times are not an isolated phenomenon, but rather a contemporary expression of play’s continuous presence and influence. Undoubtedly, play has always been a part of people’s lives, relating individuals with others, creating worlds, characters, and meanings. But what changed the situation for play today is the fact that it obtained a multifaceted omnipresence, raising questions and conflicts. Therefore, while it is being attributed a new seriousness and importance of an educational, social, or academic value, at the same time it is being highly criticized for its social and economic implications.
So what is play today? In a world described as a “game space” as McKenzie Wark puts it, what is its role? Can we locate playfulness in the activities of our contemporary culture and society? Can we speculate on the emergence of a contemporary playful man, a “homo ludens ludens” and what are the challenges he is asked to respond to?
Aiming to answer such questions, Homo Ludens Ludens is divided into four different, yet overlapping areas. The first looks at the antecedents of play in art as represented in the manifestos of the Fluxus and Situationist movements. The second features works looking at entertainment and playability in our everyday life. Next up we have a section of works underpinned by serious content and reflections addressing issues related with economic and social systems, activism, religion, politics, and war. Finally, the fourth area centers on a group of documentaries offering an introspective gaze on the medium itself, reflecting on the repercussion of the videogame in our culture and on its collateral effects.
Through the works presented in Homo Ludens Ludens, play is being reversed and reformed. Being able to carry social and political issues, it becomes a powerful tool for critique and social change. Connecting the virtual with the real, it opens new spaces for communication and action. Its ability to approach and fuse into other disciplines gives birth to new forms of art and play. Focusing on play rather than games, Homo Ludens Ludens presents a selection of works that are not necessarily game-based, whose conceptual and spatial features vary to a great extent. Play is not the outcome, but being embodied into various practices, it becomes the means to intervene and bring changes for different outcomes. What is highlighted is the “ludeness” the approaches of the creators present, their way of seeing through play and their proposal of expanding such a tactic wider in today’s culture. Play through art and art through play seem to be a way to turn situations around, to transgress constraints, to invent new rules, and to finally reveal that it is the flexible nature of play itself that can transform any discipline or territory, accrediting new features and powers to them. And this seems to be the step the contemporary playful man, Homo Ludens Ludens, is destined to take.
