What the plork? Playfulness at work and the work of playfulness in contemporary independent animated film-making

Abstract

In their educational self-help book Learning by Heart: Teachings to free the creative spirit (2008) Jan Steward and Corita Kent introduce the concept of ‘plork’ - not play, not work, but a third way of making and thinking about creative practice. However, for years this concept has been left unresearched. Through theoretical, contextual and practice-based research, this PhD research project seeks to understand the value plork might hold for contemporary, independent animation practitioners and pedagogues by asking the questions:

•How does playfulness manifest for a contemporary independent animator? •What might a contemporary definition of plork look like? •What might a contemporary, practical application of plork look and feel like?

The research utilises an autoethnographic, practice-research methodology, initially introducing theoretical concepts of plork and its component parts through analysis of the existing literature, before exploring these concepts through the recording of, and reflecting on, creative practice itself. Borrowing from other qualitative research methodologies, it creates an emergent bricolage of research methods that allows for the complex, mercurial concepts of playfulness and work to be explored through creative practice and pedagogy.

Through the theory, this research shows that, unlike Steward and Kent’s initial conceptualisation of plork as “play [as] a way of working and work [as] a way of playing” (ibid. p. 176), there is an argument for plork to be more grounded in playfulness – a playful mindset – than play itself. This research also argues that this mindset can be chosen, and the choosing of it can be cultivated. However, as playfulness is an overtly personal concern, the ability to choose – and consequently give oneself permission – to be playful relies on understanding one’s own personal contexts, predispositions and behaviours; one way to understand these is through an autoethnographic process of reflection, both on oneself and one’s creative practice.

This research argues for a contemporary vision of plork as the cultivation of, and conscious engagement with, a playful attitude in service of creative work. In doing so, I establish plork as a reflexive praxis through which animators may be able to consciously engage playful mindsets and, consequently, become more creatively engaged in their work.