The vanguard of contemporary art tends toward work that is temporal,
collaborative, and essentially uncollectible in the traditional manner.
Michael Findlay
art dealer (1964 to 1984) and former International Director of Fine Arts at the auction house Christie’s (1984 to 2000).
An Outline of Specifications
for the Museum of PlayArt
- The principle of the invaluable, irreplaceable and therefore untouchable work of art needs to be abandoned. PlayArt, by its nature, gets touched or manipulated and therefore deteriorates. A designated department has to be responsible for the maintenance, repair, or possibly replacement of exhibition pieces. Most science museums function this way today, and a variety of other museums are adapting this model as well. Art museums are the most reluctant to move in this direction.
- A large assembly of plasma screens above the entrance and in the lobby will show pre-recorded and intermittently live action of the museum visitors while they are playing with the artwork inside. Famous quotes from our collection of statements about play by prominent thinkers can be interspersed.
- An artists-in-residence program in conjunction with a technology department would continuously produce new exhibition pieces. Some repairs could take place in this department.
- The materials and surface treatments of PlayArt objects are somewhat restricted. Many materials are unsuitable for the continuous manipulation by the public.
- Some PlayArt pieces require molds or special equipment. Once these fabrication aids are on hand, it is generally more economical to produce more than one object. This production method facilitates the creation of a series of pieces. The additional exhibition pieces can be sold to other museums.
- Production of small-scale replicas of the original, large displays in the museum is an essential part of the museum’s operation. They can be sold in the museum shop, and the visitor can continuously enjoy the experiences of play and creativity at home.
- Not all PlayArt requires interactivity (touch and manipulation). A certain number of PlayArt objects simply create a playful mindset in the visitor.
PlayArt Projects in the Following Cities:
- New York (MoMA exhibition project with funding and time schedule)
- Berlin (offered 3 building sites and funding by the city)
- Munich (offered 3 building sites, including the unused airport)
- Basel, Tinguely Museum (exhibition project with funding)
- Dresden (offered existing cultural building)
- Stuttgart (offered unused railroad station as building site)
- Gevelsberg (offered vacant factory compound of Bauknecht)
- Hartford, CT (offered public park as building site)
- Emirates (offered funding)
- Vienna (exhibition project)
- Hannover (exhibition project)
Each city had different circumstances for its inability to move forward. It would be too complicated to describe the various details.