FREE PLAY MARCH 20–MAY 22, 2020 A BIG IDEA PROJECT
THE MUSEUM 191 Fifth Street East, Ketchum, Idaho Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm Sats in Mar, 11am–5pm HAILEY CLASSROOM 314 Second Ave South, Hailey Scheduled Class Times LIBERTY THEATRE 110 N. Main Street, Hailey, Idaho 208.578.9122 SUN VALLEY MUSEUM OF ART P.O. Box 656, Sun Valley, ID 83353 208.726.9491 • svmoa.org
COVER: Joaquín Torres-García, Elephant, c. 1928, oil on wood (11 pieces), private collection, courtesy Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York, photo by Arturo Sanchez BACK PANEL: Matt Sellars, Ruta Alternativa (Alternative Route), 2020, process photos, courtesy the artist and G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle INTRODUCTION PANELS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Isamu Noguchi, Model for Sunken Garden for Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, c. 1963 (fabricated c. 1980), wood, plaster, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York Isamu Noguchi, Schematic drawing for play sculptures, c. 1965, pencil on vellum, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York Tal Roberts, Wyatt Caldwell, Sun Valley Terrain Park (detail), 2018, photograph, courtesy the artist and Sun Valley Resort INTERIOR, LEFT TO RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM: Tucker Nichols, Boomtown, 2020, wooden blocks and found objects, courtesy the artist and Gallery 16, San Francisco Gonzalo Fonseca, Black and White Bodegón, 1959, oil on wood, courtesy Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York, photo by Arturo Sanchez Isamu Noguchi, Model for Slide Mantra, c. 1966, plaster, The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York Joaquín Torres-García, Two Figures, c. 1929, oil and iron tacks on wood (12 pieces), private collection, courtesy Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York, photo by Arturo Sanchez
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nspired in part by the artist Isamu Noguchi, who believed in the power of social spaces to unite art and play in order to build community, Free Play considers the ways that artists, architects and designers have worked to create artistically thoughtful spaces for playful social interaction, recreation and engagement. Free Play also offers interactive opportunities that encourage individual and group play. We hope to unleash creativity, remembering that that the unstructured, unplugged nature of play nurtures experimentation and heightens our senses. From expanding the imagination to strengthening interpersonal relationships and creating joy, social play provides essential benefits for both children and adults. This BIG IDEA project examines the way that play triggers creativity in people of all ages—and expands upon the idea that time dedicated to unstructured play with no designated outcome has enormous value.
FREE PLAY MARCH 20–MAY 22, 2020 A BIG IDEA PROJECT OF SUN VALLEY MUSEUM OF ART
MUSEUM EXHIBITION
LECTURE
CLASSES
Known for his work as a sculptor and furniture designer, Isamu Noguchi also designed playgrounds and play structures that married his sculptural aesthetic with the desire to create spaces for social interaction through play. The exhibition includes a selection of Noguchi’s models and drawings for playgrounds, play equipment and toys. In addition to examining Noguchi’s ideas about play spaces, the project looks at the legacy of his ideas, including their impact on the designers of Sun Valley Resort’s terrain parks. Tal Roberts's photographs of Sun Valley Resort's terrain park features, which incorporate Noguchi's theories and aesthetic, are also part of the exhibition. Other 20th-century artists who engaged with the idea of play include the Uruguayan artist Joaquín Torres-García, whose painted wooden toys, made with simple geometric forms, reflect his modernist and Constructivist aesthetic. In the late 1910s, he began designing transformable wooden toys with the intention of producing them for a mass market. The exhibition includes a selection of Torres-García’s original toys alongside reproductions that visitors are invited to play with. Paintings by Torres-García’s student Gonzalo Fonseca illuminate the connection between TorresGarcía’s Constructivist impulse and his toy designs. Fonseca was also a friend of Noguchi and a designer of play spaces. The exhibition includes interactive work by two contemporary artists, Tucker Nichols and Matt Sellars, each offering visitors opportunities for open-ended creative play. Tucker Nichols’s Starfield Simulator invites visitors to create their own constellations using translucent forms and an overhead projector, while Boomtown encourages visitors to build their own sculptural cities using wooden blocks and other materials. Matt Sellars invites visitors to climb and move through his play structure, Ruta Alternativa (Alternative Route), where they can manipulate and maneuver around sculptures of different sizes, and perhaps play a game of checkers at his handmade game table.
PANEL DISCUSSION: PLAY GROUNDS
ADULT CLASS: DOODLE AND DRINK
Tue, Apr 9, 6pm The Museum, Ketchum FREE (suggested donation $10) What does intentional design around creating social spaces look like? How can guided play or guided interaction benefit the community? How does play trigger creativity in our community? Join moderator Scott Palmer, Producing Artistic Director for Company of Fools, and panelists Tony Parkhill of Sun Valley Resort, Julian Tyo of the City of Ketchum and Paul Kinley of Opsis Architecture, an architectural design studio with an expertise in performing arts, for this conversation.
Wed, Apr 8, 5:30–7pm Sawtooth Brewery Public House, Ketchum Wed, Apr 22, 5:30–7pm Sawtooth Brewery & Tap Room, Hailey FREE (suggested donation $5) Come join us for either or both of two fun-filled evenings of doodling on napkins at Sawtooth Brewery in Ketchum and Hailey. Doodling is about drawing fearlessly, with spontaneity and without rules or expectations. Various prompts will direct participants to play with creativity.
ARTIST TALK WITH TUCKER NICHOLS Thu, Mar 19, 5:30pm FREE at The Museum, Ketchum
EXHIBITION OPENING CELEBRATION AND GALLERY WALK Fri, Mar 20, 5–7pm FREE at The Museum, Ketchum Artists Tucker Nichols and Matt Sellars will speak about their work at 6pm.
EVENING EXHIBITION TOURS Thu, Apr 2, and Thu, May 14, 5:30pm FREE at The Museum, Ketchum Enjoy a glass of wine as you tour the exhibition with SVMoA’s curators.
FILM LOVE, GILDA Thu, Apr 2, 4:30 & 7pm Magic Lantern Cinemas, Ketchum $10 / $12 nonmember Love, Gilda opens a unique window into the honest and whimsical world of beloved comedienne and performer Gilda Radner, whose greatest role was sharing her story. In the many ways that people come together to play, improv and comedy are powerful tools for creating a shared experience of lightness and fun, but they can also be useful ways to unburden ourselves and work through difficult circumstances.
MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY Thu, Apr 23, 4:30 & 7pm Magic Lantern Cinemas, Ketchum $10 / $12 nonmember In one of the highest- adrenaline, most unlikely success stories you'll ever see, Meow Wolf: Origin Story takes us through the meteoric rise of a penniless, anarchic art collective as it attracts the support of author George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) and morphs into a multimillion dollar corporation in just a few short years. The film is an artistic explosion in and of itself, throwing down a kaleidoscope of color, sound and music that brings this crazy, highly inspiring ride to life.
Free Play is generously supported by Jeanne Meyers, with additional support from the Dawson Family.
TEEN WORKSHOP: GET DECKED—ACRYLIC PAINTING (FOR KIDS IN GRADES 6–12) Sat, Apr 18, 10am–4pm Hailey Classroom $10, pre-registration required Participants will design and paint a skateboard deck, which they will take home at the end of the workshop. Teen workshops are generously sponsored by Joyce B. Friedman, and scholarships are available through the support of the Crisis Hotline.
FREE FAMILY DAY: THE WORLD IS A PLAYGROUND! (FOR FAMILIES & KIDS AGES 3–12) Sat, Apr 18, 11am–4pm FREE at The Museum, Ketchum Parents and grandparents can enjoy an activitypacked afternoon with their children and grandchildren at The Museum. This special event provides o pportunities to explore art while f ocusing on having fun and being silly through the creative process. Family Day participants will create art, share in story time, play games, engage in activities that connect to the art in the exhibition, and make memories—together!
THEATRE
COMPANY OF FOOLS INTENSIVE: IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY WITH ANDREW BECK OF NO-FILTER IMPROV Thu, Mar 12 & Fri, Mar 13, 6–9pm; Sat, Mar 14, noon– 4pm, with a public show at 7pm Liberty Theatre, Hailey Workshop: $50, pre-registration required Performance: Reserve your seat for $10, or pay what you feel at the door This three-day workshop is an introduction to group and team improvisational comedy. Instructor Andrew Beck (Artistic Director at No-Filter Improv in Portland and a theatre instructor at Oregon State University) will cover topics including spontaneity, group focus, ensemble building, narrative skills, and how to identify and exploit patterns and connections between ideas—the keys to creating brilliant and hilarious improv comedy. Participants will learn basic and intermediate improv comedy skills that will be on full display at a community performance on the final day.
A PLAY IN A DAY Fri, May 1, 7pm Liberty Theatre, Hailey Reserve your seat for $10, or pay what you feel at the door Company of Fools’ A Play in a Day will be a wild, exciting and unique way to celebrate the writing, directing, and acting talents of artists in the Wood River Valley! On the evening of April 30, five groups of artists (playwrights, directors, actors and designers) will gather at the Liberty Theatre and receive inspiration (a line, a genre and a prop) to create a short play. Teams will write, direct, design and act in an original work—all in just 24 hours! Teams will perform the world premieres of their five short plays for the community at 7pm on May 1. Audience members will vote on the best play, and the winning team will receive cash and prizes!