fort, da: the world of play

masters of fine arts exhibition
may 2000

An abstract of the thesis of Kevin Marc Ginger for the Master of Fine Arts in Art: Sculpture presented on May 30, 2000.

The theoretical and contextual placement of "fort,da" was informed by child development psychology. The intention was to evoke and analyze what children do, not to imitate. Faux fur, comforting blankets and the form of play balls all functioned to create objects and environments that lend themselves to absurdity, humor, and of course child-like play.

"fort, da" was titled in spirit from Sigmund Freud’s observation of a child throwing a toy with an accompanying statement fort, German for "gone." The child then delights in retrieving the object while exclaiming da or "here." The anxiety of loss (of mother, in the child's case) is mastered in this game, literally with an object. The child passes over from the passivity of abandonment and loss to the activity of the game, much as my work asks a participant to move through only looking at the art to the actual interaction of the "game."

pictures:

movies:

fort, da: The World of Play, combined technology and developmental psychology with sounds, objects, and the behavior of sounds to the participants’ interactions. I suspended fifty to sixty balls from the ceiling by bungee-cords that were tied from the ceiling to the floor. The balls ranged in size from ten to sixty inches with a color scheme of bright orange, yellow, blue and green. Each color and size had its own accompanying sound. The floor was covered in carpet padding, further supporting the idea of play (rumpus room). A wall was at the entrance of the gallery, not only to separate it from the outside world, but also to enhance the viewer’s perception of the world created inside. Also on this wall, greeting the viewer, a small video screen presented a tape loop demonstrating how different people played in the gallery as an instructional guide to how the art functioned—a room for playing with space and the relationship of the body to sound, space, and object.

fort, da was a foundation for infinite possibilities, a springboard to explore the different kinds of interaction between participant, object, and environment. The psychological research and the employment of new technologies provide a place in my current and future work—to further the boundaries between social event and artistic presentation; between dynamic sound and static form—between music, dance, and other traditional art mediums.