Aesthetics of Play Revisited
Symposium:
- ISEA2016: 22nd International Symposium on Electronic Art
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More presentations from ISEA2016:
Session Title:
- Games: Aesthetics and Criticism
Presentation Title:
- Aesthetics of Play Revisited
Presenter(s):
Venue(s):
Abstract:
What are the aesthetic characteristics of play, and how do they relate to art? In this talk, I discuss ways in which play is approached in aesthetic theory [1,2,3], and understandings of the aesthetics of play as they occur within game studies [4,5,6,7,8]. I propose an alternative view, regarding play as a medium in its own right, to which a particular kind of aesthetic is attached. Typically today the term “games” denotes the multi-medial phenomenon of video games, in which a number of modalities, techniques and aesthetics are implied. To isolate a “medium of play” in midst of these modalities (all contributing to the aesthetic experience of play) is an exercise that provides us with greater analytical clarity, which is exactly what we need to be able to pinpoint the specificities characterizing the medium of play. Identifying a conflict that, arguably, complicates the often presumed close relationship between art and play, I suggest a conceptual approach to the aesthetics of play that is rooted in sensuous perception rather than in art theory. Applying this perspective, the relationship between play, interactive and non-interactive art is discussed [9], as is the playfulness of art games [10, 11]. Finally, I introduce the concept of beauty [12] in play, and ask the fundamental questions: Why is play a pleasure? Can it be a burden?
