Who would have thought that a playground would help make two ends meet for me? Who would have thought that a little frustration and a little sip of a white chocolate mocha would lead me to getting on my computer and checking out design plans and ideas for playgrounds for kids?
Let's take this picture for example:
This picture is the kind of playgrounds I grew up with. The swings, the sandbox, the slide, and the spiny thing that always made me feel sick. Those are what I used to have fun. Those are the basics to playgrounds. Those are the foundation to modern-day playgrounds. Those are representations to my understanding of modernism.
Modernism was the building blocks to the post modern world. Without modernism there would be no post modernism. Without the basic slide, without the basic swings this wouldn't go from this...
To this...
and this...
Let's analyze these differences just a little more. What post modernism does to change from modernism is first the overall appeal to this playground. The appeal of the middle school playground was the one thing that caught my eye. This playground went beyond all the boundaries of traditional playground. This playground broke down lines, broke down circles and triangles and bent and curved these shapes to create figures that look appealing to the modern day eye. This not only accomplished the postmodern appeal in my eyes but it also caught the appeal of many children's eyes. I will argue that any playground is fun to play on, but for children if there is a challenge, if there is something that stands out to them they will feel more inclined to play on this work of art. Yes, this playground is a work of art, its a work of art with many purposing but its main purpose is to provide this postmodern appeal for kids all around.
I never would think of this until seeing the pictures you posted side by side. This definitely shows how postmodernism is not only with buildings and art for adults, but now is going to change the way children see playgrounds. Since children are the future of our nation, we nurture them with postmodern ideas and technology. They will grow with having these ideas, and they will just continue to grow. Who knows where they will go from there. We can't even imagine what the children of the future will come up with. It is unthinkable at this point.
ReplyDeleteKatie D,
ReplyDeleteI like how you related what we were doing in class to something we see everyday. I never would have thought to do that. You really made me understand how modernism has developed into postmodernism. This is very insightful and clever. Just to think that the first playground is what we grew up with and already it has developed into the last picture you posted. That just shows how fast things can move forward and change.
You rock katie D!
-Kimmy D
Katie, if I hadn't read your blog, I wouldn't have ever noticed how playgrounds have evolved artistically. I remember the first time I saw the new playground at Attea Middle School, I thought "this is different, kind of strange." However, I never realized how the designers of this playground were designing it from an artistic, postmodern angle. I find it so interesting how you picked up on this; I now have an awareness to look at what's around me and notice the difference between the modernism and postmodernism in the world I live in.
ReplyDeleteKatie -
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the three previous comments! I would've never understood the playground comparison if it hadn't been for this blog post. I really enjoyed reading it and am so glad you included the picures because it really does show how much the "traditional playground" is pretty much dead. I remember when we first got to Attea Middle School and they had just redone the playground to look similarly to the second picture you posted. I believe that things like this will only keep changing for the future generations of kids. Thanks for opening my eyes!
Shayne Turpin