The Gibson Girl: A Reflection on Kite Flying

Authors

  • Mark Selby University of the Creative Arts, UK (Fine Art Further Education)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1913-5874/37381

Abstract

This article examines, via a self-reflective analysis, a period of practice-based research started during residency at the Nordic Artists Centre, Dale in 2012, culminating in a solo exhibition at the Institute of Jamais Vu, London in 2013. Titled Rescue Kite, the exhibited artworks explored the relationship between play and structure; with particular focus on the use of ‘play’ in post-war culture and post-structural collapse. This textual analysis suggests a re-invigoration of play in art production through exploring the work of Joseph Beuys, the ‘Gibson Girl’ radio transmitter, instruction-based art of the 1970s and Mary Flanagan’s notion of ‘critical play’.

References

Baldessari, John. Aligning: Balls. 1972. Photographs. Tate Collection, London.

Baldessari, John.I will not make any more boring art. 1971. Video. Castelli-Sonnabend Collection

Beuys, Joseph. The Pack. 1969. Sculpture. Tate Modern, London.

Beuys, Joesph. Ausfegen (Sweeping Up). 1972. Documentation of performance. Tate Modern, London.

Bourriaud, Nicolas. Relational Aesthetics. France: Les Presses du Réel, 2002. Print.

Caillois, Roger. Man, Play and Games. USA: University of Illinois Press, 1961. Print.

Flanagan, Mary. “Creating Critical Play.” Artists Re:Thinking Games. Ed. Carlow, R., Garrett, M. and Morgana, C. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2010. 49-53. Print.

Flanagan, Mary. Critical Play. USA: MIT Press, 2009. Print.

Gansel, Dennis, dir. The Wave. Rat Pack Filmproduktion, 2008. Film.

Höller, Carsten. Test Site. 2007. Installation. Tate Modern, London (Unilever Series).

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. USA: Beacon Press, 1950. Print.

Magee, Kate. “Ten bizarre objects found in ‘cool’ offices”. BBC News Magazine, 16 Dec 2013. Web. 25 April 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25355618>

Meulstee, Louis. “The Gibson Girl Transmitter and Kite”. The Kiteflier, Issue 93 Oct. 2002: 19-23. Print.

Nielsen, Palle. The Model – A Model for a Qualitative Society. 1968. Installation. Moderna Museet, Sweden.

Rolandi, Alessandro. “DEJA-VU. Sweeping Gulou”. Aesthetics of Protest, 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 April 2014. <http://aestheticsofprotest.org/deja-vu-sweeping-gulou-area/>

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Published

2014-05-01

How to Cite

Selby, M. (2014). The Gibson Girl: A Reflection on Kite Flying. InTensions, (7). https://doi.org/10.25071/1913-5874/37381