Endless Amusement
For as long as there have been children, there has been play. Play and pretending shape the way children grow and learn as they become members of society. From the play sleds used by the Inuit children, to play bow and arrows, to modern children playing doctor; they are all learning skills that adults do. This helps to form the ay children see the world and there place in it. Toys are the catalyst to this, in the sense that they are a tool to help grow the need and desire to learn and be more like the grown-ups.
In this collection of work I tried to represent the decades from 1850 until 1950, with each decade being researched and studied, before creating a unique piece either based on something that existed, a combination of ideas, or something entirely made up. The materials used also tried to represent the time they came from and the style of the time, and while my own style still shows through, each piece is different from how I would normally work.
Every piece in the collection is meant to be touched and played with. And while there is always the fear that the sculpture could be damaged, it is in the interest of play and experimentation that we take that risk. Because in the real world, toys will be broken, but that isn’t a bad thing.
Visit the official web exhibition at http://www.librarycompany.org/endlessamusement/exhibit.htm
