Letter from Brian Sutton-Smith, play theorist

Dear Ernst,

I write in support of your PlayArt concept and forthcoming exhibition. I have spent my life doing research in play at both child and adult levels and have been president both of the American Psychological Association’s Division 10 (Psychology of Art) as well as of the Anthropological Association for the Study of Play.  It is my opinion that the next century will be the century of play; and the heteroglossic activity of artists in this century has been the forecast.  Their divergently creative activities, particularly in the visual arts are an indication of values that are becoming increasingly meaningful to ordinary citizens. The modern public demands ever-greater possibilities for the expression of their own multiple mindedness brought about by the massive informational overload of the modern world. The only way one can react preliminarily to such stimulation is through playfulness, and then secondarily with discipline through art.  PlayArt devised by creative artists is the compromise medium which immediately appeals to all of us by providing playful opportunities through artistic forms.  There is real genius in this proposal.

The bulk of current psychological research on play both on the animal and human levels shows that the novel repertoires of responses developed in such play, elevate the players’ level of creative adaptive capacity.  Play is not just a frill or recreation, but also the preparation of alternative response systems which increase the breath of competence in the players. Our kind of world needs to systematize how we can do this in planned rather than a heedless fashion and PlayArt foregrounds this educational and metaphysical problem.

Sincerely,

Brian Sutton-Smith, Ph.D. Professor of Education (GSE) and Professor of Folklore (SAS).
Head of Program in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development, University of Pennsylvania, PA.

(Comment: The letter carries no date, it was written in the mid nineties.)