The Game
Posted on September 17 2019
.The Game │ 6th September - 3rd October 2019
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It is amazing to see how many different interpretations a subject can raise. We do not realise there is an entire spectrum of possibilities in front of us since we naturally tend to exclude some of them.
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Think about games, for example. In how many ways do we perceive them? When we consider the verb “play”, do we share the same collective imagination, the same habits, the same language? As stated by the philosopher Johan Huizinga, games are somehow related to culture. “It has not been difficult to show that a certain play-factor was extremely active all through the cultural process and that it produces many of the fundamental forms of social life” (Homo Ludens, 1938). True. But maybe what is univocal for someone is acknowledged in a different way by others.
Think about games, for example. In how many ways do we perceive them? When we consider the verb “play”, do we share the same collective imagination, the same habits, the same language? As stated by the philosopher Johan Huizinga, games are somehow related to culture. “It has not been difficult to show that a certain play-factor was extremely active all through the cultural process and that it produces many of the fundamental forms of social life” (Homo Ludens, 1938). True. But maybe what is univocal for someone is acknowledged in a different way by others.
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The group exhibition “The Game”, arranged at Spazio Millepiani in Rome and open from the 6th September until the 3rd October 2019, reminds us how variable a word can be. The artists, here, literally play with their imagination and their life experience producing a wide range of imageries. And even when a few results are pleasantly expected - meaning the ones complying with our mindset and tastes -, some others are totally unpredictable. After a visit to the exhibition, we will be in a position to respond to the stimulus arising from the artworks, showing various nuances of the same (always playful?) dimension. Not afraid of being sometimes intrusive, sometimes bitter, while some other times gentle..
The group exhibition “The Game”, arranged at Spazio Millepiani in Rome and open from the 6th September until the 3rd October 2019, reminds us how variable a word can be. The artists, here, literally play with their imagination and their life experience producing a wide range of imageries. And even when a few results are pleasantly expected - meaning the ones complying with our mindset and tastes -, some others are totally unpredictable. After a visit to the exhibition, we will be in a position to respond to the stimulus arising from the artworks, showing various nuances of the same (always playful?) dimension. Not afraid of being sometimes intrusive, sometimes bitter, while some other times gentle..
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Ken Weingart, Joe Drink, 2015
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A game is suitable to children as well as adults whether it is a creative, funny and innocent activity or, on the contrary, something mysterious, exploring the dark side of every human being. The interest in board games, for instance, represents a social moment, a positive experience letting us interact with other people and their lives. That explains why the artists on show are capturing parks, cities, people and details such hands and faces. A constructive variation of this topic is sport, introducing us into the world of the agonistic competition with-or against-or between us and the others. Instead, places like Tivoli and abandoned parks tend to embody a nostalgic and sentimental remembrance, materialising our desire to be thrown back to childhood.
When talking about games, though, we cannot avoid their kinky, at times sad or disturbing features. In fact, they can also be projections of our obsessions, vices or lust. And if a toy, for certain people, becomes a sex toy, a mask can symbolizes shyness, insecurity as well as sensuality. Not to mention that games can obsess, imprison us, once they generate addiction.
In the end, it is the visitor who chooses which side to take, which way to go. Forward or backwards? Left or right? Good or bad?
When talking about games, though, we cannot avoid their kinky, at times sad or disturbing features. In fact, they can also be projections of our obsessions, vices or lust. And if a toy, for certain people, becomes a sex toy, a mask can symbolizes shyness, insecurity as well as sensuality. Not to mention that games can obsess, imprison us, once they generate addiction.
In the end, it is the visitor who chooses which side to take, which way to go. Forward or backwards? Left or right? Good or bad?
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Vigmantas Balevičius, Game on the Lake, 2017
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Valerii Strizhikozin, Domino
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The Game Exhibition Catalogue │ Buy it
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