Helen Levitt, Graffiti: Chalk Drawing Of Figure With Double Pupils, New York City, C.1940, Gelatin Silver

I love Fujio Kito's photographs of playgrounds around Japan. There are so many artful and thoughtful designs for play spaces and structures throughout the Japanese cultural landscape.

東京都狛江市多摩川住宅ニ号棟

中央公園

※多摩川住宅ニ号等も建替えが決定しました。

★多摩川住宅の写真展をしたいので、調布市・狛江市で団地の公園遊具の写真展を開催できるスペースを探してます。オススメの場所などありましたらご連絡ください！

#公園遊具　#公園　#playground #park #playsculpture #artwork #photoism #tokyo #japantravel

#多摩川住宅　#多摩川　#団地　#石の山　#調布　#狛江

You know that play is an essential and profound part of humanity when it's inspired countless works of art.

Girl on the swings, 1953.

Photo: Ernst Haas via Design You Trust

I couldn't include everyone in my piece my piece "Form, Function and Fun: Playgrounds as Art Education," so I'll have to do a follow up blog post discussing Aldo van Eyck's work and philosophy around play and playground design.

When Aldo van Eyck assumed work at the Amsterdam Public Works (Amsterdam Publieke Werken) one task soon became his focal point: the design of playgrounds accessible for every child in every neighborhood of the city. Until then there existed only secluded playgrounds initiated by playground associations of which children had to be member to gain access. On Jacoba Mulder’s initiative Van Eyck made a first design for the Bertelmanplein consisting of a sandbox in which four large rocks and an arch-shaped climbing frame were placed. This design was his point of departure for many more playgrounds to come (Van Eyck eventually realized some 700 of them) but also a testing ground for his ideas about architecture, relativity and imagination. Especially with regards to relativity. i.e. the non-hierarchical arrangement of the different components based on their mutual relationships, the playgrounds proved to be of great importance for Van Eyck’s theoretical reflections.

In 2002 the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam devoted an entire exhibition to Aldo van Eyck’s playground that was accompanied by the present catalogue: „Aldo van Eyck: De Speelplaatsen en de Stad“, edited by Liane Lefaivre & Ingeborg de Roode and published by NAi uitgevers. The catalogue collects a wealth of photos and drawings that in turn provide insights into a body work that in many ways appealed to the architect. For Aldo van Eyck the children’s perspective on city and architecture as well as the lighthearted creativity that went along with it were of integral importance. As the authors show, he had his play equipment designs tested by his own children and at the same time let himself inspire by artists and artworks he admired. The result were playgrounds that on the one hand appealed to children and on the other hand tell a lot about Van Eyck’s intellectual and creative reference system. Unfortunately only a fraction of them still exist today….

Top: 2- Stage Transfer Drawing. ( Advancing to a Future State),  Boise, Idaho. Erik to Dennis Oppenheim, 1971. Bottom: 2- Stage Transfer Drawing. ( Returning to a Past State), Boise, Idaho Dennis to Erik Oppenheim, 1971. Source: The Estate of Dennis Oppenheim

How does drawing extend beyond actual marks made on a surface? Find out in my post "Lineage Drawing," where I describe the impact of a 1970s collaboration between conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim and his children. Read it via the URL here: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2023/01/02/lineage-drawing/

Graphite drawing of a lady with a parasol, made by Paul Klee between ages 4 and 6. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Read more about the childhood artwork of well known artists in my latest Artfully Learning post here.

A highly inventive childhood drawing by renowned American abstract painter Louise Fishman.

Louise Fishman, FOOD COUPONS FOR IMAGINARY BROTHERS & SISTERS, 1947 

Note, she’d have been around 8 at the time.

Holy Night Ruthie Aybar 3rd Grade USA

Source: The Henry Schaefer-Simmern Collection, Children's Museum of Art, New York (CMA1264.20)

Detail of Mike Kelley’s Educational Complex, 1995, acrylic, latex, foam core, fiberglass, wood. Source: https://mikekelleyfoundation.org/artwork/educational-complex

This might sound shocking coming from an education blogger, but I have been wondering whether compulsory education and traditional schools are leading us astray and even worse, harming our students’ well-being. My post, "Educational Complex" explores topics of unschooling and Youth Rights and uses artist Mike Kelley's Educational Complex as an example of some problems within compulsory education. Read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/educational-complex/

Art + Math

Sol Lewitt, Geometric Shapes Within Geometric Shapes 1979 

As an artist, educator and art historian my concerns are about symbolically visualizing and accurately documenting experiences that prompt us to consider taking steps towards bettering ourselves and our surroundings. Although art is often symbolic and abstract in its function, it can certainly (and already has) led to transformative changes that benefit humanity and ecology alike. The laborious, creative process itself is an act of perpetuation, which is a main tenet of maintenance. Prior to a work of art entering society, the artist develops an idea behind their work and must nurture that concept by fashioning it into a tangible object or experience. Once the artwork leaves their studio it takes on a new purpose. Whether it is intended for public reflection or the white walls of a gallery, the artwork also requires significant care.

Inspired by renowned social reformer Jane Addams' 1907 essay, “Utilization of Women in City Government,” I wrote a piece about the role that art can have in societal and environmental upkeep. You can read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/utilization-of-artists-in-societal-and-environmental-maintenance/