ABSTRACT

Play and the Artist’s Creative Process explores a continuity between childhood play and adult creativity. The volume examines how an understanding of play can shed new light on processes that recur in the work of Philip Guston and Eduardo Paolozzi. Both artists’ distinctive engagement with popular culture is seen as connected to the play materials available in the landscapes of their individual childhoods. Animating or toying with material to produce the unforeseen outcome is explored as the central force at work in the artists’ processes. By engaging with a range of play theories, the book shows how the artists’ studio methods can be understood in terms of game strategies.

chapter 1|21 pages

Introduction

Ageing Play

chapter 2|36 pages

Kits and Building Blocks

chapter 3|38 pages

Creative Battles

chapter 4|12 pages

Eduardo Paolozzi’s Playgrounds

Contradictions in Art and Play

chapter 5|43 pages

Shuffle/Spin/Stack

Emergent Narrative

chapter 6|19 pages

Absurd Processes

chapter |2 pages

Concluding Remarks