Ludic Labyrinths: The Museum As Playground in the 1960s

The 1960s witnessed a proliferation of museum exhibitions and installations structured as labyrinths. Dylaby (1962) at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Labyrinth (1963) by the artist collective GRAV at the Third Paris Biennale, and HON (1966) at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, were all immersive mazes that undermined established modes of art viewing by disorienting the viewer and inciting play. These are now understood as key examples of major art world shifts whereby environments took precedence over objects and participation supplanted spectatorship. But, their emphasis on play, and specifically child’s play, has been overlooked. The figure of the child pervades the documentation of these works to a surprising degree, featured in related installation photographs, films, and reviews. Despite targeting viewers of all ages, Dylaby, Labyrinth and HON reflected conventions of postwar playground design and children’s art education programs. While these exhibitions echoed a newly pronounced interest following World War II in nurturing creativity among children through play-based programs, they were also suggestive of the ways in which art institutions participated in narratives of cultural renewal, and with the advent of the Cold War, behavioral conditioning.