Brandweerspel 1874 - 1896

Editor: This is "Brandweerspel," or "Fireman's Game," by C. Stooter, dating from somewhere between 1874 and 1896. It seems to be a watercolor print of a board game. I find the composition so interesting, this oval track with these detailed little illustrations. What do you see in this piece, beyond just a vintage game? Curator: What strikes me first is the interplay of order and contingency. The grid of the game board imposes a structure, yet the imagery within—the chaotic energy of the fire, the figures in motion—disrupts that order. The composition relies on creating balance between the firemen in action on the board's plane and the conceptual constraints that form its logic. Editor: That's a great point about order. I didn't really notice that. How do the visual elements work to draw us into the narrative, since you bring up narrative and visual composition? Curator: Notice how the central image of the fireman combating the blaze dominates the entire design, drawing your eye. Then examine the palette, carefully constrained by red, yellow, blue and raw umber. The success depends upon our accepting this logic that begins with the image and its ordering. We are encouraged to begin from here. Editor: The controlled color scheme actually adds to the impact of that central scene. So it's this push and pull between a sense of exciting chaos and tight design. Curator: Exactly! By isolating intrinsic aesthetic features in terms of a structural logic, it can assist the understanding of the cultural construction. The piece, in its careful construction, also reveals its own constructedness. Editor: I never would have looked at a game board this way before. That changes my view entirely. Curator: The layering and connecting these various points allow for further investigation and inquiry, I would argue.