An Invitation to Play
“Civilization arises and unfolds in and as play” (Huizinga 1950)
When I released my new website less than two months ago, nobody could have anticipated the level of anxiety, fear and confusion we are currently experiencing.
It seems banal to write about play and websites in a time when the world as we know it is uprooted by a matter that is 0.004 to 0.1 microns in size — even smaller than a bacteria and completely invisible to our eye. Fear of the unknown permeates our physical and digital landscapes. At the same time, we also know that fear creates stress and stress compromises our immune system more than any extra vitamins and hand sanitizer can offset.
… So I invite you to play…
I invite you to log into my website. Just like my work, my website is designed for you to explore and play — to allow for the unknown to unfold, to slow down and follow the landscape, the slowly pulsing spheres that take you into the worlds of my performances and hopefully remind you to breathe a bit slower and deeper.
In order to get lost in play we need to have the security of clear boundaries. In order to not worry about losing track of time, I suggest to set a timer for the desired time — you might after all only have a few minutes to spare. With the timer keeping track of time, you are now able to let go and completely relax into the experience.
As John Dewey describes, play is immediate but its content consists of a mediation of present materials by ideas drawn from past experiences. It is then when play and work, playfulness and seriousness, become one and the same. It is in this state that we become truly human.
