Unfoldings

Huizinga's analysis of play, described in his text Homo Ludens, is compared to the creative process in art-making and to the creative response of the viewer. The play process is examined through questionnaire responses and observations made during an evening of experimental play. Huizinga's assertion that play is not a factor in the plastic arts is challenged. Refutations and counterexamples drawn from the history of art since the Renaissance show that play is indeed a factor. The artistic movements cited are those which provide examples of works having either particularly playful or particularly mathematical content, or both, including Anamorphic painting; Dada; Bauhaus; Neo-Plasticism; Concrete Art; Op Art; Fluxus; and Kinetic Art. Special attention is given to the works of Alexander Calder, George Rickey, and Yaacov Agam. The author describes a personal iconography, and introduces the geometric foundation of her sculptural works, which derive from the geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller's "vector-equilibrium jitterbug." Descriptions, photographs, and drawings are included for the author's Thesis Project, comprising several kinetic, manipulatable jitterbug sculptures.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1992

Author dc:creator

• Johnson, Caryn L. (Caryn Lindani)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paul Earls.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/67408

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/67408