LOS TABURETES

Our spine is the schematic representation of a tree trunk. Its function is that of sustaining and supporting, but its ultimate reason for being is to hold up its branches, which in turn carry leaves, blossoms and fruit. Through painstaking contemplation, medieval thinkers tried to discover the laws governing the position of each leaf on a tree. It was the leaves, in their effort to attain the greatest possible exposure to sunlight, that encouraged the trunk to grow higher and the branches to reach further out. Ultimately, the disposition of its parts was determined by the tree’s overall need for balance, resulting in absolutely unique organisms. No two trees are alike.

The game of LOS TABURETES (The Stools) is subject to the same kinds of laws that determine the forms of trees. They have to be piled up in order to form the shaft of the trunk, a solid spine. The tree top should spread out as much as it can, reaching upward but not losing its balance. The result is always different, yet always harmonious. In playing this game we play to become a tree, we think like a tree, we grow like a tree – we use the instinct and natural intelligence of human beings without behaving like them. And somehow we are still different from this plant life, and we are able to enjoy the results in very different ways. Perhaps part of it lies in having reverted, if only for a moment, to being primitive creatures again.

The game contains a box with 12 stools, with legs made of natural wood and seats of different colours. The game can be played alone or with others. The play is free and open-ended, as it is in all the games of the Ludus Ludi collection. We invite you to create with no limits.

Author: Javier Bermejo