The Tree House:Freedom, refuge and playing

The Tree House: Freedom, Refuge and playing

“For some time now, the conviction has been growing in me

that human culture springs from playing—as game—and develops within it.”

(Homo Ludens, J. Huizinga, p. 7, 1938)

I have been fortunate enough to live near tiny woods for the last 20 years of my life. In those small green paradises, I could take my children for walks and teach them about trees, plants, insects, stones, and soil. These little groves were just steps from home, but once we ventured deeper, we felt we were far away. There, I observed their recurring tendency to build a tree house; it's like a child's golden dream (mine too, to be honest). Over the years, they built two or three. Nothing too elaborate. And there, they played without any sense of time, immersed in the reality of play itself. I seem to recall that the most entertaining part was building the treehouse, gathering materials to make it suitable for shelter, providing privacy, and, very importantly for them, security from intruders (usually other children who might try to take over the treehouse). The next phase involved providing food (cookies) so they could keep playing without having to return home at "tea time." I watched them, remembering my own childhood games, and marveled at their ability to immerse themselves in a narrative completely parallel to this world. There was so much creativity, planning, rules, conviction, and, above all, so much enjoyment in what they were doing.

In that context, the treehouse, the game, and its impact on human beings became a subject of inquiry, and with it, images in my mind that began to shape the painting in question and many others that contain the mystery of play. I remembered a song. I wasn't that fond of the artist—Jorge González as a solo artist, not with Los Prisioneros—but that particular song struck me as interesting, very simple yet complex because of the concepts it offered about play and life. I'll copy it here to continue this thread:

A Treehouse

(Jorge González, 1993)

A treehouse

where I keep my drawings

and my stories,

where the birds sing.

A treehouse

with a rope ladder

and the foods

I like best.

Hey, that's largely what I came here for.

Hey, I can't forget it.

A treehouse

with rain in September

and a telescope

to see you from afar.

A treehouse

where no one can find me

or my drawings

and where I can take my nap.

Hey, that's largely what I came here for.

Hey, I can't forget it.

Hey, that's largely what I came here for.

Hey, I can't forget.

My tree house...

My tree house...

My tree house...

This simple song got me thinking about things that are both here and there—perhaps more there than here—like the Vedic belief in "Lila" (the Divine Play); J. Huizinga's "Homo Ludens" (which I read with delight last year); the relationship between art and play; the puzzle game (which I am or was fond of); the mysterious game of the labyrinth (which obsessed me); the need for refuge and also the freedom found in that place that is the house IN a tree; The tree (as usual in my painting) and, to top it all off, the combination of a puzzle and a labyrinth, so frequent in my paintings from those years (2010-2014; I started this painting between those years, only now have I finished it and given myself this space to write these reflections). Furthermore, I love the part about not forgetting what we came here for ("hey, that's largely what I came for, I can't forget it," as the song says). And I've also thought about the terrible (or the wonderful): every game has an end. This brings to mind the sound of the Archangel Gabriel's trumpet; it's like "game over," the day of final reckoning and everyone's exit from the game.

Game. What is a game? For our Chilean biologist Humberto Maturana, we speak of play “whenever we observe human beings or other animals engaged in the enjoyment of what they are doing as if their actions had no external purpose” (Love and Play, Forgotten Foundations of the Human, p. 135). He establishes that it is a fundamental part of emotional development and loving bonding from early childhood, highlighting the act of operating in the present without the productive attitude of our current culture.

On the other hand, a definition by J. Huizinga states that it is “free action or occupation, which takes place within certain temporal and spatial limits, according to obligatory, though freely accepted, rules; an action that has its end in itself and is accompanied by a feeling of tension and joy and by the awareness of ‘being otherwise’ in ordinary life” (Homo Ludens, 1938). Let us pay attention to what this author says about the fundamental nature of freedom and rules for participating in this game. However much of a game it may be, one remembers when he said to another,Because it likely didn't harmonize with the narrative or characteristics of the game that had been developing. There's a framework, even in a seemingly infinite game; there are foundations that are laid, and if they are "reformed" or mutated, actions will follow the logic of their "evolution." The game is taken seriously; commitment and active participation are required (just think of board games with someone who's already bored and whose disinterested attitude disrupts the game's dynamic). Hence the requirement of being present, as Maturana mentions. At first glance, one might completely oppose play to seriousness, but Huizinga exemplifies the seriousness of play in the following gradation:

“The child plays with perfect, and we can rightly say, saintly seriousness. But he plays and knows that he is playing. The athlete also plays with passionate seriousness, totally committed and with the courage of enthusiasm. But he plays and knows that he is playing. The actor gives himself over to his performance, to the role he plays. However, he 'plays' and knows that he is playing. The violinist feels a sacred emotion, lives in a world beyond and above the ordinary, and yet he knows that he is performing or, as it is said in many languages, 'playing.' The playful character can be inherent in the most sublime action” (“Homo Ludens,” Huizinga, pp. 33-34). Huizinga dedicated an entire book to the topic of play and included a chapter on the arts and play, which was what most interested me in exploring. He analyzes music, theater, and dance as playful; however, in the case of art The author argues that the element of play is not present in all works, either during their production or in their subsequent existence, unless they are part of performances. He posits, for example, that in archaic art, art was part of the sacred world and imbued with magical power in its ritual use, or that when representing a deity, it was full of symbolic value. He sees in the sacred the presence of play, defined by the use of these expressions and their acceptance by a community. But it is a sacred game; there, the "serious" aspect of play is clearly visible.

There were long centuries when visual art may have been outside the realm of play, as Huizinga describes. In art before the 20th century, craft, artisanal skill, and perfect execution were paramount, which, for him, is out of the question, since it focuses heavily on productive activity. Yes, much work was predominantly technical, but I cannot ignore what a work of art reveals throughout its development by an artist, revealing itself in a kind of game of searching and finding, interpreting, guessing, imagining. The viewer also plays a part in the artwork once it's finished. A painting, for example, generates its own "rules," operates according to its own logic, and creates a joyful world. It can come alive in the totality of the image—isn't there a game there? Art can develop within play and also as play. Consider the evident play in collages; found objects or readymades; the exquisite corpse technique applied to form formation; wordplay and its interplay with images; among many others.

Searching for older thoughts on play, I was surprised to find Plato in a work written in his later years called "The Laws," in which Clinias and the Athenian engage in dialogue. In Book VII, there's a passage where he refers to play. But his perspective differs from that of Huizinga or Maturana. Plato perceives it more as a pedagogical and moral tool for children (yes, he mentioned girls, which surprised me because I had the preconceived notion that the Greeks cared very little about girls and women). (in fact, women weren't even considered "citizens," but that's a topic for another discussion), where play is a revealing space for understanding an individual's character, among many other things. But the most interesting part of these passages dedicated to play is where it intersects with the Hindu concept of Lila, which I will outline later. Let's read part of the dialogue contained in The Laws:

“ATHENIAN: The architect, who wants to build a ship, begins by drawing up its plan. It seems to me that I am doing the same here, and that, having set out to determine what belongs to each kind of life, according to the nature and qualities of souls, I must first draw up the plan of the entire work, to see better by what means and according to what system of customs I will be able to successfully guide our citizens to port in the voyage of this life. Truly, human affairs do not deserve such great care; and yet, it is necessary to take it, which is certainly the most arduous thing to do in this world. But once the undertaking has begun, we should consider ourselves fortunate if we manage to carry it out in a suitable manner. What do I mean by all this? This question, which I ask myself, anyone else could perhaps rightly ask me.

CLINIAS: That is true.

ATHENIAN: I say that we must hasten to what our desires deserve, and not To be troubled by what is unworthy of our care; that God, by His very nature, is the most worthy object of our longing; but that man, as I said before, is nothing more than a plaything that has come from the hands of God, and that this is, in fact, the most excellent of his qualities; that it is necessary, therefore, that all, men and women, conform to this destiny, and dedicate their lives to the most precious games and allow themselves to be moved by sentiments completely opposite to those that move them at present. (I have added the underlining)

CLINIAS. —What?

ATHENIAN. —It is believed today that it is necessary to concern oneself with serious matters in view of those that are not; for example, there is a persuasion that war, which is a serious business, must be waged with a view to peace. Quite the contrary is true; in war there is not, nor can there naturally be, any diversion or instruction worthy of our inquiries; whereas the most interesting thing for us, in my opinion, is to live in peace. for most of our lives and in the most virtuous way. Regarding the rules to be followed in the game of this life, and the choice of the different kinds of amusements, sacrifices, songs, and dances that are most suitable for making the gods favorable to us, putting us in a position to repel the enemy and emerge victorious in battles (emphasis mine), and also regarding the subject matter of the songs and dances to achieve this twofold effect, we have just outlined models and opened, in a way, paths along which we must march, convinced that the poet was right when he said: “Telemachus, you will find some of these things yourself through the strength of your spirit, and some god will suggest the rest to you; for I do not believe that you received existence and education despite the gods.” (fragment from Book VII, The Laws, Plato)

The word “toy” is jarring when referring to man in relation to God, but it should not be misinterpreted; rather, it is a toy in how precious and cared for by Him to delight us in the beauty of His creation. Then, the Athenian organizes our activities, prioritizing living for God and affirming that human beings should live their existence as a sacred game dedicated to the divine, distancing ourselves from the vanity of worldly pursuits (pride, power, riches), without thereby abandoning our duties, occupations, and responsibilities. Let us remember that every game has rules and requires seriousness.

Turning now to the concept of "Lila" that I mentioned earlier, this is intimately related to what the Athenian said, which implies divine play. It can be summarized as follows:

"The concept of Lila states that creation, rather than being an objective to achieve some purpose or goal, is instead the result of the 'playful' and spontaneous nature of the divine present in the ultimate reality that constitutes everything. Lila is the creative and spontaneous activity of ultimate reality and has no specific purpose because, from the ultimate perspective, everything is perfect and complete in itself. Since the divine is perfect, it could not have any desires properly satisfied or unsatisfied, which means that there is spontaneity and freedom, rather than necessity, as a purpose. Behind the act of playing Lila, creation does not seek an external goal, but rather naturally arrives at Ānanda (supreme bliss or happiness) that 'emerges' spontaneously from ultimate reality in self-reflection; a paradoxical act that in turn generates the illusion of a "void or relative space" where the illusion of multiplicity (duality) can emerge, thereby allowing the unfolding of Lila's cosmic game. Thus, Lila's "game" is the "game" of the One being Many, as an act of "self-curiosity" of infinite plenitude. (Taken from Wikipedia)

Years ago, when I first encountered this concept of Lila, it made my skin crawl, filled me with chills and anger. I have to admit it. It amplifies the "let there be light" too much, but adds the cyclical nature of creations and "uncreations," and that bothered me. Coming from different traditions, I felt at odds with both cosmogonies and creation myths. I know the reason for my anger, but it's not the subject of this writing.

This divine game also has an end. In one narrative, it will be the contraction or inhalation of Brahma (just as creation was his exhalation), and in the other, it will be the sound of Gabriel's trumpet. And we return to Unity. And it reminds us of the Big Bang, which was the beginning and will reach an end of expansion before beginning contraction until it is reduced to that initial single particle. Game Over.

I leave you to the playful act of exploring my painting, in which the free use of your faculties... This will give way to the aesthetic pleasure that arises from the harmonious interplay of imagination and understanding.

"Only when the imagination, in its freedom, awakens the understanding, and the understanding, without concepts, puts the imagination into regular play, then is representation communicated, not as thought, but as an inner feeling of a state of mind in accordance with its purpose" (Critique of Aesthetic Judgment, I. Kant, page 240).

Thank you for reading!