Thursday, August 23, 2007

the multi-purpose game

My six-year-old daughter and I recently started a new game where we choose an object and think of as many different ways that object can be used as we can. For example, a tree might be a home, mailbox, paper, maple syrup maker, etc. This portfolio piece, A Dozen Pencils, reminded me of that game. Manipulating size and context, the artist shows how an ordinary object can take on unconventional roles, if you let your imagination and creativity flow.

This also reminds me of Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," a similar concept. I did a copycat piece of the poem in college (16 Ways of Looking at a Bed) ... but I won't share that here :) To be honest, I wouldn't even know where to find it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This would be a great game for when I substitute teach in elementary classes (or any age, really) and in art. Would be a good excercise for my studio classes, as well.