beaux livres : photo, architecture, art

This book is based on the concept of distance, as it lies at the heart of the concept of play: to say that there is play is to say that there is a space between the two parts of a mechanism, which allows it to function. Distance is also precisely the condition for a critical gaze. Starting from a historical and conceptual questioning of the relationship between play and work, this book combines the research of a psychologist and a philosopher on the power relations that these relationships induce and the contemporary uses of play, in its sporting as well as theatrical, physical as well as digital forms.

The question of management, central to the contemporary world of work, is addressed both through the psychologist’s reflective experience in the field of business and through its historical roots and connections, from industrial Fordism to political authoritarianism. The book concludes with a reflection on the notion of power games, central to Michel Foucault’s thinking in analyzing contemporary forms of government as well as in supporting the possibility of counter-powers.

Alain Bernardini’s photographic work playfully illuminates the questioning.

Reduce