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.