Benefits of play in art

“Those who played survived, adapted, and developed skills and capacities that their ancestors could never have imagine.”

“Play has always been a key to adaption and survival, and I believe it will remain so in the future.” Page 197

After reading Play I also believe this too. This morning I woke up in a bad mood, I did twenty minuets of yoga, took Chester out for his walk and played fetch and now it feels like life couldn’t better and I will now achieve what I want to with my day which feels really important to my survival at the moment. Stuart says:

“Why do I say this? Three reasons: social, economic, and personal. Play sets the stage for cooperative socialisation. It nourishes the roots of trust, empathy, caring and sharing.” Page 197

We learn so much through playing together, inventing the game, setting the rules, arguing about the rules and being the winner or looser. Through play we adapt with the skills we can take them into our lives and be better humans (or dog in Chester’s case) as a result of it.

“Play lowers the level of violence in a society and increases communication. For example, even when there are big social or economic gaps between people, they can often find common ground talking about the local sports team. If diverse, clothing ethnic or cultural groups can be coaxed to actually play together, the positive effects can be dramatic.” Page 198

I feel like we certainly need some of this at the moment. It sadly probably wont happen or can’t with covid. Do you remember being at festivals last summer and dancing with people you don’t know either side of you, in front and behind and having the time of your life without knowing anything about them. What a glorious feeling it was and a brilliant way to interact with others. I hope public art can create these opportunities for total strangers.

“In the adult world. Play continues to be woven unto the fabric of our culture. In large part, play is our culture, in the form of music, drama, novels, dances, celebrations and festivals. Play shows us our common humanity. It show us how we can be free within the societal structures that allow us to live with others. It us the genesis of innovation, and allows us to feel with an ever-changing world.” Page 199

When lock-down kicked in the adult world did quizzes together. My friends and I had a ball playing pictonary over video call. We all have watched films and dramas and talked about the ones were watching. We’ve watched concerts and plays online. Chris and I watched The Peas along with our friends every Saturday night, we danced in the lounge together, messaged in answers for the silly competitions. It was great fun, without those little high-lights life would have been incredibly hard.

“The world needs play because it enables each person to live a good life.” Page 201

I don’t think anyone can argue this statement after the six month we’ve just been through.

“I see that being playful has an important role in every sphere of our lives. As I’ve shown in the previous chapters, we are designed by nature to grow and develop in large part through play… play is what allows us to attain a higher level of existence, new levels of mastery, imagination, and culture.” Page 202

This makes me think of my Grandma and the sea squid. Grandma has been in her care home and garden for six months, she hasn’t left the grounds. She used to have a visitor everyday and church on a Sunday. The visitors have started again but not as many and now her brain is dying. She can’t comprehend what is happening in the present anymore or remember what happen yesterday. She has become a sea squib and it breaks my heart. I need to figure out how to get her playing again to give her that higher level of existence once again, as that is what made her her usual jokey self.

“Play gives us the irony to deal with paradox, ambiguity and fatalism.” Page 202

This is what she has lost, she is now cross and frustrated. It makes visiting really hard as she is so unhappy about the current situation that she can’t enjoy being in the moment with her visitor. It is so sad and breaks my heart. I hope my installations can break up someones day and gives them the moment of joy that they need to not be a sea squid.

Play isn’t always easy and you do need a bit of pain to really enjoy the highs. Stuart uses the example of climbing up a hill, it’s slow and hard and makes your legs hurt but when you get to the top the feeling of achievement is great and views are amazing. All that hard work is so worth while. Perhaps I need to add a layer of challenge to my playful installations to give them this edge.

“You have to make it through the discomfort to find the fun. True play is even one step beyond this.”

“Advanced play, the black belt of play, comes when we realise this and act on it. As long as we are acting in concordance with our central truth, then the outcome will be positive.” Page 205

This is true of every installation I have made. Making them is so hard physically and mentally. It is always the install which is the biggest challenge. It is so stressful and demanding in all ways. I always question why I am an artist when I’m going through this process. Seeing the audience playing with the installation is the icing on the cake and couldn’t be a better high. It makes it all worth while and gets my creative cogs turning for the next installation. Stuart reminds us this:

“When we fully internalise this ethos. Our work is our play and our play is our work, and Michener noted, we have a hard time telling the difference between them.” Page 205

If this isn’t the case with your work for you find other ways to play.

“Every day, everywhere, there are opportunities to find play: throw a tennis ball of a dog; pull string in front of kittens; browse in a bookstore. Here’s an old piece of advice that trite but true: stop and smell the flowers.

“Simply taking a moment to deeply inhale the air after a rainstorm or kick a pile of leaves can be a private moment of play. More powerful yet activities that really pull us into play. More powerful yet are activities that really pull us into play, like getting down on the floor to play blocks with a child.” Page 210

I don’t know if anyone will ever read this blog but if you do take the above with you, really do stop and smell the flowers or play with a dog. Give into your little playful urges what ever they might be, today mine was spotting a squirrel hiding against a trunk from me.

“Probably the biggest roadblock to play for adults is the worry that they will look silly, undignified, or dumb if they allow themselves to truly play. Or they think that is is irresponsible, immature, and childish to give themselves regularly over to play.” Page 211

Since having grandchildren my mum is a changed person. She is so much more relaxed, she picks up the blocks with them and now is stepping into advanced play. This week she’s learning the Peppa Pig theme tune on her clarinet and she’s ordered a music book of Halloween tunes to play for them.

“Let your body respond to lessons learned form nature but long suppressed. You can’t be truly open to spontaneity if you don’t feel comfortable testing novel ways of expressing yourself, pushed along by the pleasure of the action. Play is exploration, which means that you will be going places where you haven’t been before.” Page 212

I have recently experienced this. The baby book told me to sing to my bump and I really didn’t want to but felt I was denying my unborn baby a joy it should have. The problem is I am not a good singer and I don’t like singing in front of people. Even in the car I rarely sign in front of Chris. I have pushed my self and have began to sing to the baby. Last week I found myself lying in the camper van singing my heart out in front of Chris, the bump and Chester without a care in the world. Since I’ve been singing along to the radio and yesterday I sang Good King Wenceslas with my Grandma in full sunshine. I’ve enjoyed it so much I want to sing now!

“One of the quickest ways to jump-start play is to do something physical. Just move. Take a walk, do jumping jacks, throw a ball for the dog (a double play boost).” Page 213-214

I really want the next installation I make to be movement base, I want to get the audience moving as it is such an effective way of play. And to have the installations in public settings that allows for people to play with them as and when they can.

“Play is nourishing, but you have to take time out for play, just as you would take time out for a meal. And that doesn’t mean doing the play equivalent of fast food. Television sitcoms doesn’t usually count, unless you haven’t laughed for a while. A lack of play should be treated like malnutrition – it’s a health risk to your body and mind.

Find the play that feeds your soul, build an environment where people understand your need, and get out there and make it a priory to stay play-nourished” Page 215

This is really interesting as our lives get so busy and we also get tired that it is quite easy to just telly of an evening. We’ve been away for a week and have played card games most evenings since being home we’ve been watching tv instead. I will make an active effort to make sure we play together of an evening and don’t just watch the telly.

I promise to nourish other peoples lives by creating playing installations. Installations that are so playful that they just can’t not be played with.

“Play is how we are made, how we develop and adjust to change. It can foster innovation and lead to multibillion-dollar fortunes. But in the end the most significant aspect of play is that it allows us to express our joy and connect most deeply with the best in ourselves, and in others. If your life has become barren, play brings it to life again. Yes, as Freud said, life it about love and work. Yet play transcends these, infuses them with liveliness and stills time’s arrow. Play is the purest expression of love.

When enough people raise play to the status it deserves in our lives, we will dint he world a better place.” Page 218

Smell the flowers, wiggle your bum, throw a ball and sing a song and if you stumble across an installation play with it, it’s there for you.

THE END (Of Stuart Brown, Play)

It’s hard to say a definite yes or no, it depends on the circumstance. The first issue that is discussed in the chapter is bullying, which isn’t play at all. We all know the feeling of being teased when it’s taken too far. The level of teasing and when to stop is something we should have learnt through our play history.

“One of the prime characteristics of play is a desire to keep the activity going. If one of the parties involved in the play is stronger than another they will automatically self-handicap in order to level the playing field and keep the game going. Self-handicaping us easy to see in animal play, like when the polar “bit” at the neck of Hudson the husky. If you wan to see other examples, simply do a YouTube search for “dog and cat playing”. The dogs are much bigger and scarier, but the crouch low to the ground to make themselves smaller. If they use their paw to swipe at the cat, they do so gently.” Page 178-179

If we are playing properly we won’t hit each other so hard that it hurts. Chester play bites with me but never hurts me or breaks the skin, he knows when how to do it in a playful way and he learnt this as a puppy. My sisters two boys are just working this out, they do a lot of play fighting it’s all part of them learning.

“In play, we learn how to deal with life’s wins and losses with grace. In the end, we learn to shake hands and let the emotions go, something that is useful in “real” life as well as in games. A poor sport can’t do in either arena.” Page 182

It is a really key part of our development, knowing when to stop and when to take it easy, taking turns, winning and loosing. We all love to be the winner but we also need to know how to be the looser. During Covid we have all experienced loss, all of my physical work came to an end and it hurt. Without learning how to deal with loss I wouldn’t of been able to deal with this situation. I’m lucky that I have this skill. The problem comes when you just can’t stop playing, but is that still play? As the gambling advert says ‘stop when the fun stops’. Stuart discusses this with video games and TV:

“I’ve seen kids who are happily playing with blocks on the floor, interacting wit each other, negotiating, inventing new story lines, being energetic and talkative. And then the television comes on and play stops. Interaction is no more. The story line is set by the box, and the kids are merely long for the ride, motionless and mute. Single-player video games are similarly attention hogs and socially isolating.”

“The other concern I have with concern I have with excessive use of screen-based entertainment is that they neglect a deep human need to interact with the material world: to feel the tug of gravity, to physically move through the dimensions of space and time, to feel the physical resistance of solid objects.”

“In Wilson’s view, the hand and brain coevolved and dependent on each other.” Page 184

“a hand is always in search of a brain and a brain is in search of a hand,” Page 185

I found this all so interesting. For parents screens are definitely beneficial, it gives them some quite time to cook dinner or enjoy a bit of a meal out. I’ve used my phone this way in the past. It can encourage some great imaginative play, being Spiderman and saving the world is of course inspired by watching Spiderman. It’s making sure it’s not too much and the child can stop, learning to stop at 5 years old is a lot better than in later life.

“There is scientific evidence that our brains react differently to three-dimensional objects than the do to the two-dimensional representations on video or computer screens.”

“The use of the hands to manipulate three-dimensional objects is an essential part of brain development.” Page 185

Light Pavilion was my first step into digital art. It was still very 3D and didn’t involve screens. I am passionate about the audience touching my work, I think it makes a deeper connection. For a little while I need to design work that doesn’t encourage touch to prevent Covid.19. It seems critical to keep my work playful that it doesn’t head down the screen only route.

“When a real hand holding a ball was presented in the window, large areas of the brain’s visual and associational circuits were activated. When a picture of a hand holding a ball was shown, the visual cortex demonstrated similar arousal but the associational areas were virtually silent as if we are programmed to “see” more comprehensively in natural settings.” Page 185-186

This shows we do really need physical connection within our play. This really pleases me as I do really want my audience to touch my work, to change and manipulate it. This shows how important it to us in our play. As adults our lives are very screen based, most people work with a computer, have a phone and a tablet and watch TV. When my phone started telling me every Sunday how much I use it each day I was shocked, it is still shocking. Having playful installations within public settings that invite adults to use their hands and physically engage with the work seems vital.

“Three-dimensional physical and social play is a ‘better’ form of play, just as a balanced diet is better than one full of sugar hits.” Page 188

Screens definitely have there place. I do think the inspiration they create for imaginative play is great. It’s all about not having too much of one thing and knowing when to stop. This brings the chapter back to the beginning, we need to know when to stop teasing, how to not hit too hard and when the fun has stopped. These are all skills we learn through play as a child, it’s all about finding the right balance.

“Bending the rules and pushing through the limits should happen in the realm of play. They aren’t the side of play – they are the essence of play.” Page 193

“Those who play together stay together” page 158

Quick, play with your friends and partner to make sure you stay together. That’s what this phrase says to me. Chris and I are going to go swimming tonight to stay together! I’ll make sure we have some races rather than just doing lengths. He does have an advantage as he’s not carrying a child. In terms of art it’s wonderful to think that my work can really help people bond. To understand this bond we need to look into the relationship between a mother and her child:

“In order to feel intimacy throughout life, the growing child needs to access this earliest of play states. As we get older, the play state is sculpted by our culture.”

“The play they engage in with friends, siblings, and (in more complicated way) with parents sets the stage for their adult interactions.” Page 159

This is really interesting, the play we do as children directly influences our adult lives. I can’t really remember playing with my mum lots as a young child but I must of done as she was with me all the time. Things that really stick in my mind is playing with the kids on my street, Jaydee and Emma teaching me to ride without stabilisers, I did that all day long, I was so determined I was going to do it (I am still determined now), making plays with Richard on the swings in his garden and charging our parents 20p to watch (the business women in me) and riding down the hill pretending to perform (I have no fear of public speaking). Lots of memories are playing on the street, it’s what we did when we got home from school. These early interactions make it so we understand play signals as we grow up. It’s just like when a dog bows showing they want to play, we do these things and I learnt to them playing on the street. This isn’t something that kids can do now, there are just too many cars and too much traffic. I live in a little cul de sac and all the houses have drives but I think it’s still too busy with delivers and cars to let your child play outside unattended. This is why we need play spaces that are safe for our children and our selves to access.

“If we lived in a world with play.. It would be a pretty grim world to live in. Wha play signals do is invite a safe, emotional connections, if even for an instant. Even in casual interactions, the sincere compliment, the remark about the hot/rainy/freezing/damp weather, joke or sympathetic observation opens people up. emotionally. It transforms a grim, feerful, and lonely world into a lively one.” Page 161

If you see someone walking say hello, smile, have a chat. It could transform your day and theirs. I love the idea of getting complete strangers to play together with my installations. Two passer-byers who come together for a moment of play and change their days from a normal one into a happy one and create a memory to hold on to. A long time ago on the plane to my sisters I sat next to a man, we got chatting and then watched half of Meet the Fockers on his laptop, he was on the same flight back so we watched the second half together too. I can’t tell you the year or his name but I will never forgot that this happened. Stuart Brown has experienced this too, in a pharmacy queue he’d been waiting a long time and he was already having a bad day and had a head ache. He made a joke and his fellow queuers joined in. By the end his headache was gone, he felt better about his day and he had a good feeling from interacting with and helping the others too.

“Without various forms of social play we would find it very hard to live together. Society would either lock up like an over heated engine, or we would have to evolve a rigid, highly organised social structure like that of ants of bees. Play is lubrication the allows human society to work and individual sot be close to each other.”

“Which is why play is the most important element in love.” Page 164

“Play refreshes and fuels a long-term adult relationship.” Page 166

Quick go and find your partner again and do some more playing. Early love is designed around play activities, think about dating you might go bowling or to the fair, you’re going to do something fun. Chris and I met climbing. I remember our first proper date, going to Thai restaurant for dinner. Although dinner isn’t know to be the most playful setting the idea of a dinner was, I’d never been on one! I had fun trying on my dresses and creating my love persona! I wonder if any had a date or part of their date in Light Pavilion? I know a friend Joel and his partner had fun trying to turn all of the lights green together.

“Play keeps everything in balance, providing resilience and flexibility in a relationship, and allowing couples to rebound from misunderstandings or unrealistic exceptions.” Page 170

“As everyone knows, the most passionate romantic feelings eventually fade. If play has been part of the relationship from the beginning, less intense sexual attraction and romantic love will remain, joined by the attachment that is the product of long-term emotional closeness.” Page 171

It really is important – those who can play together, stay together. The skills we need to do this are learnt early on it our lives. It’s not just our love lives that are effected, it is every aspect of our lives:

“People whose play lives have been vibrant, like my physician friend with post-heart attack brain damage, have buffers against travail and suffer less when major change is thrust upon them. Play produces poise and strength. Consummate players can better meet these changes with grace.”

“If we continue to play to play together we will always be able to find emotional closeness, always be able to find novelty and make discoveries not only about those we love, but also about ourselves.” Page 174