Games in Art

From our childhood to our old age we find ourselves engaged in games. We refer to life as a game. And truly some people make a specific game their life, such as football, baseball, or soccer. I touched upon one kind of game, the role playing game, in my last article as a source of inspiration, but now, I want to make you aware of all the other kinds of games that are out there.

Games are an integral part of our society. As a kid growing up in the United States, I played games like Clue, Monopoly, Sorry!, Solitaire, Rummy, Chess, Checkers, Pong, Backyard Football, Little League, Pick Up Sticks, and the list stretches on and on. As I grew up and went into high school and then college, I still played games. As a man in a depressing dead end job doing work that I generally find boring and almost intolerable, games are a vital part of my daily mental exercise.

If we look back through art history we can find that games are reflected in art throughout time. Even back to the Egyptians, we see, although from the side, Egyptians playing games. Board game layouts are inscribed in some of the stones used to build the pyramids and mastabas, probably by workmen. There is a famous painting of a man playing Chess with Death. Children's games of Medieval Europe have graced the canvas surface. And I think Norman Rockwell may have sneaked a checkers game into a work or two.

My point for briefly touching upon this is that games of all kinds can be a good source of inspiration for artistic endeavor. In every game there is a point in which we hold our breath and wait in anticipation for the next move or play. In sports, which are just games on a grander scale, there is the winning play, or the pivotal play that turns the tide of the game. In strategic board games such as Chess or Go, a single piece or move may turn the tide of the game.

The exercise for this time around is to incorporate a game into your artwork in some form or fashion. This can be a very mundane sort of painting. A couple talking and one of them holds the King and the other the Queen. Seemingly very simple but if the woman holds the king, there could be some deeper meaning. A pair of old guys at the park playing checkers could be brought to life. Sumo just as one colossal opponent is being thrown from the ring could be a great dynamic piece.

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