A new book of games by German artist Carsten Höller encourages its readers to engage in a series of playful activities that are guaranteed to offer an entertaining respite to boredom. Contained within its pages are 336 diversions that can be conducted alone, in pairs or in groups, wherever you happen to be. And there’s no need for any props or materials – just a willingness to try something new or to be daringly subversive.
Looking inside your own head
Games range from the silly (clapping game pat-a-cake but with butt cheeks not hands) to the salacious (use the Surrealists’ erotic hand signals)
Known for his scientific curiosity, Höller likes to explore human behaviour, perception and altered states of consciousness with a playful approach, teasing the brain while testing its limitations. The origins of his book lie in a game he conceived with a group of friends in 1992 during a tedious dinner held after one of his exhibition openings. Höller then went on to collect and invent other games, inspired by life, friends and other artists.
Ranging from the easily achievable (yell loudly at inappropriate moments) to the highly aspirational (turn your eyes inward and look inside your head), and from the silly (clapping game pat-a-cake but with butt cheeks not hands) to the salacious (use the Surrealists’ erotic hand signals), the activities are guaranteed to get you seeing the world through new eyes (as well as maddening your mates and making you smirk).
Surrealist hand signals
All the games are illustrated with commissioned or pre-existing artworks and photographs, with inspiring contributions from the likes of Inez & Vinoodh, August Sander, Wolfgang Tillmans, Nan Goldin, Rineke Dijkstra, Salvador Dalí, Marina Abramović, Joseph Beuys and Gus Van Sant, alongside treasures from Höller’s personal archive.
The book has been edited by the Serpentine Galleries’ artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Stefanie Hessler, the director of the Swiss Institute in New York.
High butt cheeks / pat-a-cake
Book of Games, £40, by Carsten Höller, published by and available from Taschen, taschen.com and Amazon
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