The dissertation analyzes play sculpture as an element of the artistic system of postmodernism. In particular, the definition of the concept of “play sculpture” in the cultural and art sense was clarified, considering the artistic and aesthetic features introduced by postmodern practice that led to a better understanding of the functional specifics of play sculpture. Detailed account of the cultural, social and historical conditions reveals the genesis, evolution, and specificity of the main practical achievements in introducing the functions of play into sculpture. Play sculpture is analyzed as a natural stage of development of the art culture of postmodernism. The main art forms characteristic of the play sculpture (modernist experiment with the functionality of sculpture) are explored presenting modernist sculpture as a space for risk, openness, and development of a child. The key features of play sculpture formed under postmodern tendencies are studied, as well as the contemporary concepts of formation of creativity in sculptural form as a symbiosis of art and national creative spirit. As characteristic features of modern play sculpture, the study examines the synthesis of elements of architecture, landscape and design, as well as the use of new materials. The general playful tone of artistic discourse was the result of modernist fascination with primitive art. Such art was perceived as an opposition to culture and civilization. Experimenting with form and materials, simplification, generalization, and abstraction in primitivism deconstructed the form and image into their basic elements and morphological units, the latter process later produced general polymorphism in art. The attitude of artists to the play as a strategy of transformation allowed to combine play methods and artistic experiments, which led to the destruction of the academic figurative tradition and established notions of art. The broader use of play strategies in the art of modernism conceptually transformed the phenomenon of play, made it possible to perceive it outside the play mode of the work. This created a favorable artistic and aesthetic background, which contributed to the emergence of playable sculpture. The most important methods of turning art into play are: deconstruction, dehumanization, conceptual pluralism, radical metaphor, ironic reflection, etc. The postmodernist plays covered other spheres of cultural space, carnivalized everyday life, and allowed the spectator-player to go beyond it, to break the rules and roles of everyday life. In art, the play compensated the lack of content in the artwork, transformed the artistic narrative into performative actions. The play created a new concept of a large-scale synthesis of fine art and other types of creative activities. The experiments of avant-garde artists with the functions of the artworks formed a basis for adaptation of sculptural composition to children’s dynamic games. The creative discoveries of E. Möller-Nielsen, the author of the first play sculptures, inspired many artists to experiment with the play functions of the sculptural form. Play sculpture of that time combined the style of modernist artworks and the functionality of design. Scenario of the children’s play in the space of sculpture became the basis for the creation of plastic composition. During the time, the features of the play sculpture were location at the playground and focus on the children’s anthropometric data. The composition provided a zone of play communications and spaces, half-hidden from the observers. The sculpture had an abstract or figurative-stylized form and was made of affordable materials. Thus, it was recognized as beneficial for child development.
Since the late 1960s, the form of play sculpture for children’s motor development has been in crisis. In a few years, such sculpture disappeared from the playgrounds altogether. The adoption of regulations regarding the standardization of playgrounds and stricter requirements to the functional safety of equipment were the key cause of this crisis of play sculpture. For the artists, the opportunity to experiment with form disappeared, therefore, the creation of a play sculpture that was complicated by the safety requirements and standards became a rather technical than artistic task. Thus, in development of play sculpture two major stages of may be defined: the first one — before the regulations on safety and standardization were introduced, and the second — after this event. The use of play functionality in the creation of neo-avant-garde sculpture proves that the play functions of many neo-avant-garde artworks were focused on the task of playful communication between adults, therefore, such pieces are proposed to be considered the play sculpture.
