Photographer chases past with old playground pieces

Brenda Biondo hunts for increasingly elusive quarry.

She drives through older neighborhoods keeping an eye out for gentle metal curves or worn wood covered over with 20 coats of paint. She is stalking old playground equipment.

It’s easy to bring back the old school games, to teach jacks and marbles to a new generation, but the old-fashioned playground equipment is disappearing.

Biondo is determined to photograph some of these objects before they’re gone for good. Her exhibit of photos of old playground equipment, “Once Upon a Playground,” is on display at the Business of Art Center beginning Aug. 15.

Biondo has two kids, so she understands why the old stuff must go.

“They’re being torn down for good reason,” said Biondo, 44, who lives in Cascade. “I don’t take my kids with me when I shoot, because I can’t let them play on it unless I’m right there.”

Nevertheless, she’s nostalgic for the towering metal slides, spring-mounted animals, and splintered see-saws she grew up playing on.

“The old stuff seems to have so much character to it,” Biondo said. “I really like looking at the sculptural aspects — curves, colors, shadows, reflections. It’s not just a hunk of metal, but it is beautiful in itself.”

Biondo also feels the urgency of trying to create a historical record before the old equipment is gone. In late 2005, she shot pictures at the old Lunar Park on East Uintah Street in Colorado Springs, with its space-themed toys.

“I went back a few months later to shoot in different light and it was gone, and there was a plastic contraption there instead,” Biondo said. “Every year there will be less for me to shoot. In 10 years I don’t think there will be much left.”

Gone with the old slides and rocket ships is the quirkiness and regional flavor that marked many playgrounds. The new equipment is safe and sturdy, Biondo said, but it all looks the same to her.

“I think they are less unique,” she said. “The plastic stuff does tend to look very similar.”

So she keeps driving around, scouting out schoolyards and neighborhood parks, hoping to catch the glint of sunlight on a metal slide.

DETAILS

“Once Upon a Playground” exhibit

Where: Business of Art Center, Spencer Hall, 515 Manitou Ave.

When: Aug. 15 through Oct. 2. Gallery hours noon-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Artist’s reception 5-7 p.m. Sept. 21 in Venue 515.

Cost: Free

GAME RESOURCES

The playground games we’ve highlighted this week are just the tip of the blacktop.

Here are some other classics you might want to try:

red rover, kickball, tag, dodgeball, Frisbee, hand-pat games, yo-yos, tops, pick-up sticks, red light green light, capture the flag, duck duck goose, hide-and-seek and steal the bacon. If you want more ideas, or have some game-related questions, we found a bevy of playful resources while working on play:

For game ideas and rules . . .

- “The Dangerous Book for Boys” by Conn and Hal Iggulden. Compendium of old-fashioned games and cool stuff.

- Kids Games, gameskidsplay.net. Great list of games and variations.

- Streetplay, streetplay.com. List of games that play well on city streets.

For research and facts on play . . .

- Alliance for Childhood, www.alliance forchildhood.net.

- American Association for the Child’s Right to Play, www.ipausa.org. Help them protect recess.

- National Institute for Play, nifplay .org. Focus on the science of play.

- National Museum of Play, strong museum.com.

- National Recreation and Park Association, www.nrpa.org.