SPEEL GOED!

Art and play, play and art:  it is a challenging dialogue and philosophers also take it to heart.
Hans Georg Gadamer (1900-2002), among others, takes the element of play seriously in the creation of an aesthetic experience. He frames this in the concept of an expectation horizon, a term he has developed in relation to the interpretation of art.
“There is therefore a willingness to allow the encounter, to go along with it or to play along. Then the encounter can become an aesthetic experience. It is precisely the failure to meet expectations and the willingness to interact with the work of art that means that something can shift in that expectation and that the expectation can be adjusted. It is therefore important to be prepared to play along. In the The actuality of the beautiful. Art as play, symbol and celebration Gadamer {1990} explains play as an elementary function of human life. Human culture is not possible without a game element. Characteristic of play, according to him, is movement and repetition of movement without a goal attached to it. Winning the game is not an actual goal of playing, but moving into play. And in that moving in play there is room to play. It is the reason of man who, in the aimlessness of play, sets rules for himself and imposes aimless behavior on himself that is also meant to be. Or, as Gadamer puts it: play is ultimately self-representation of one's own play movement (Gadamer, 1993). The game represents its own game movement.
When playing, there is always playing along. As a spectator you become part of the game. The spectator also moves along with and in the game. In that sense, play is communicative. According to Gadamer, the work of art as a game asks to play along, to be in the game. And during that playing there is no longer any difference between the work of art and the viewer. Together they make the meaning.
The work of art is therefore only a work of art when it is seen as a work of art and there is a fellow player who plays the game and seeks the playing space in the game.
It is a mistake to think that the unity of the work of art means closedness towards the person who turns to the work of art and is reached by it (Gadamer 2010). The work of art therefore does not communicate one meaning, or the meaning that the maker has given it. It is up to the co-player to enter into a dialogue with the work of art, to relate his horizon of expectations to that of the work of art. Dialogue presupposes two parties who want to enter into a dialogue with each other. Who want to spend time with each other at a certain moment. It also presupposes that the work of art is capable of conducting a dialogue. That it is not only an object to look at, but also a subject to talk to and to exchange ideas with.” (Til Groenendijk, I can see a woman crying, 2016,)

In the exhibition in gallery Transit, four artists confront each other with what this element of play can mean.
Allart Lakke shows a series of works from his series 'Toys for an unborn son'. Orange and black painted wooden objects, often on wheels and with chains, form strange constructions. They are placed loosely in space and seem to invite you to play. In addition, he introduces a series of limited edition coloring books.
Wouter Feyaerts shows painted champagne corks with faces. He says the following about it:
“Within a restrictive format, surf as smoothly as possible on the basic feelings happy, scared, angry and sad. An encounter between the tragic and the comic. Playing as an incantation ritual and an invitation to create wealth in poverty and breathe freedom into limitation. Basic feelings and basic skills as a gymnastics exercise in the temple of wonder.”
Christophe Terlinden invites us to discover his playful way of looking at reality with the help of a 'Plastiskop', a slide viewer in the form of a plastic mini TV from the 1970s.
Annelies Vanderkleuren shows a replica of an iconic work of art by Hernann Finsterlin (1887-1973), utopian architect, artist and toy maker.

26.02 - 02.04.2023
Vernissage Sunday 26 February 2023, 2 - 6 pm
reception Corsendonk beer
Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 2 - 6 pm, or by appointment

Artists: Wouter Feyaerts, Allart Lakke, Christophe Terlinden, Annelies Vanderkleuren