Cloak & Feather and Brief Artist Statement for "At Play"

Cloak and Feather (Working title) From the Series, At Play, Archival Pigment Print, © Dennis DeHart, 2011


At Play-Artist Statement

Nietzsche wrote "maturity consists in having found once again the seriousness one has as a child at play." Twenty years after reading this, the quote seems even more apt, as I observe and participate with play in my own children's life. At Play is a celebration of the imaginative world of childhood. The series also places the context of nature at the forefront of consciousness. While At Play is not motivated by politics, it does focus on the politics of play. The photographs predominately frame nature play as integral to childhood development and education. Many of the photographs in the series, are derived from alternative educational environments including Waldorf and Expeditionary Learning models.