If you like to gamble, Danny Houk is your man.
You win some, lose some.
It’s all the same when you experience his exhibit, “Pawns,” at Western Illinois University’s Annex Gallery.
We all like board games, right? Houk’s exhibit uses games as a metaphor for life’s unpredictability, where every decision can lead to sudden success or setbacks. The five pieces in the “Pawns” exhibit evoke familiar feelings from childhood games, while encouraging you to reflect: 'How can I move my peg to the next stage of my life?'
Houk wants you to see each moment as a choice that can help you advance or keep you stuck.
While pondering those thoughts, Houk also wants spectators to consider how playing a round of a game can open the door to more honest and open conversations about religion, politics, and the sociological issues we face every day.
Sharing these discussions in the informal setting of a game encourages people to express differing opinions without fear of judgment, turning the experience into a more inclusive forum. By welcoming a diversity of perspectives at the game table, we can explore how to improve ourselves and our communities through open dialogue and mutual respect. It’s not Parcheesi, it’s realistic.
Of course, my favorite part of the exhibit was the section on the wall called “Games People Play Ephemera.” Part of that artwork included a list of names by which we refer to ourselves and to each other. Trust me when I say that you’ll find at least five adjectives that best describe who you are, those closest to you, or sworn enemies near and far you speak ill of. Being a writer, there are so many words we use to depict everyday people, but Houk’s list of interpretations knocks it out of the park, as it shows how consumed we are with the labels we put on ourselves, each other, and what we hope others put on us.
Roll, shake, bop, poke, fold, camp, buff, nerf, respawn, read & weep, command, conquer, risk, collect, give, or hold, just don’t let snake eyes follow you to and after visiting “Pawns.”
Instead, let it guide you to become the ace of spades you need in life to know when to hold 'em or fold 'em through the good, bad, and ugly that awaits most of us as we journey around the sun. This exhibit will remain on display until Friday, October 3. The Annex Gallery (located across the street from the University Art Gallery on the bottom floor of the Heating Plant) is open from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Admission is free and open to the public.
