Another Kind of Art Competition
Happy New Year to everyone who follows my London’s Art Seen blog. There’s some exciting shows coming up in 2019 and I’m looking forward to seeing them as well as writing more about art in London for you all. Please do remember that I offer a range of art tours and experiences in London for all age groups (https://www.londonsartseen.com/art-experiences/).
This Christmas I got given several games and it’ll come as no surprise that most included an art focus.
Over the holidays, once my daughter’s epic and nearly impossible 500 piece Mona Lisa jigsaw puzzle (with ginger cat) was complete, with a sense of real achievement, we moved onto The Art Game.
An artists’ trump cards pack, it was created in 2014 by James Cahill, illustrated by Mikkel Sommer and published by Magma for Laurence King. Each card includes an image of an artist, some information about him or her followed by 6 categories:
Influence
‘Shock of the new’ effect
Versatility
Top auction price
Critical reception
The ‘beautiful’ factor
On opening the pack, I immediately loved the feel of the cards as well as the details in the illustrations: Christo and his wife are wrapped, Mondrian has a suit jacket which is reminiscent of one of his paintings, Magritte is faceless but has a hat and pipe. The game focuses on modern art and there are several female artists represented which is reassuring.
5 players, the youngest at 9, the eldest at 69, we start to play. And play soon stops and discussions start. We’re surprised by some of the scores and try to justify the numbers allocated. Influence is tricky - we might not be fully aware of, for example, the influential impact of Ai Wiewei as yet. Play resumes. The winner of the ‘beautiful’ factor is now under fire, Rothko has won against Picasso, Rauschenberg and Warhol. We’re still not convinced. We check the box and discover that there is a card which has a note on the selection criteria and marking system which starts, ‘Quantifying the beauty or impact is a fine art in itself’. It continues by acknowledging it is also an imprecise art also justifying the inclusion of the beauty factor category by putting it in the context of a given ideal beauty. It ends by noting that modern and contemporary art is eclectic and that the scores for each category try to reflect this characteristic. Whilst nice to be included, the note doesn’t change the fact that we may disagree with some of the scoring (or at least they are the starting point for asking why, how, when). It feels very much like a relationship with the sat nav in your car, it’s a good start but there are other options. Instead of just reading out our scores, we agree that we should identify our artist too, we’re keen to come to grips with the scores and categories even if we’re not in total agreement. It allows us to feel we are learning and arguing communally. In the meantime, the 9 year old has won two games! It’s a great way to get the mind thinking about artists and their relationship to the market. Playing the game in 20 years time will also be fascinating as things move quickly and change in the artworld as seen in my blog ‘Money Creates Taste’ posted on 20/11/18 (https://www.londonsartseen.com/blog/2018/11/20/money-creates-taste).
My new gifts remind me of what I have in storage upstairs. A labour of love for Tate Enterprises, many years ago, I developed a children's art game much like happy families. Working with Rachel Hamdi and Holly Fulbrook, in 2007 the postbox red box of Art Collector hit the children’s area of all Tate shops. I dig it out and we start to play as a family. I am relieved that my two daughters think it’s amazing and love the artworks shown on each card. They understand the concept and start ‘happily’ asking for artists’ works that they have neither heard of nor seen before.
It’s a great tool to get children (and adults) more familiar with artists and artworks in Tate’s collection. The girls look at the paintings and sculptures represented on each card and begin to get more confident with artists names. There are 13 artists’ collections in total, inclusing Hepworth, Hockney, Turner and Whistler, each with 4 works. Grandma wins. I am pleased that the game works (!) and the girls are keen to play again (and again!). I’m also surprised to see how much of me is in the game - artists and works I include on my art tours.
But, of course, nothing beats going to museums and galleries themselves and seeing works ‘in the flesh’. Like The Art Game, Art Collector is a lovely starting point to foster a love of looking at art. For now, my art games equal a more happy and art-aware family. So, for me, it’s a win-win!
The Art Game: https://www.laurenceking.com/product/the-art-game/
Art Collector: https://www.oliverbonas.com/gift/tate-art-collector