A Lessendgame is a multimedia artwork that involves the work of many individuals. A Lessendgame is best defined as an experience and, though many documents and art objects are produced, it is something contained in the memory of its participants.  Just as a trip can be better remembered with photographs, a Lessendgame is immortalized in its documents and artworks.  The parameters of the Lessendgame are defined by the artist and artworks are distinguished from documents by their inclusion in an exhibition of the Lessendgame.

Lessendgames often work like trips and indeed frequently involve travel. A Lessendgame can also last many years and make use of extended breaks between “scenes.” Lessendgames may begin secretly and without announcement and they are often occurring unbeknownst to the participant. For Lessendgames to function best, the participant is kept unaware of the overall design of the project. Lessendgames also occur concurrently and can overlap one another.

            Lessendgames employ the principles of magic through the ancient art of illusion. Such illusions can be of a perceptual, metaphysical or material nature.  For these illusions to work, participants are invited to suspend their disbelief - to believe that which seems unbelievable. As with any magic, an element of trickery is in use. Like the master illusionist, the creator of Lessendgames keeps certain facts secret and only reveals the sources of this sorcery to able apprentices. Let it now be said that old doors have recently opened and certain impossible dreams can now be realized.

Lessendgames resemble films but films that are made and projected simultaneously. These projects, however, unlike films, don’t use cameras or screens but instead combine elements of virtual reality with elements of actual reality. A Lessendgame is fluid drama that works by stage direction. But unlike normal theater, there is no stage and the separation between actor and audience is so blurred that it ceases to exist altogether. The distinction between worker and participant is also blurred and, in some cases, eliminated. In a Lessendgame, life becomes art and each person becomes an artist.

Certain parts of a Lessendgame may be scripted and actors are sometimes employed to play these roles. These actors often work undercover and the participants are kept unaware of the ruse. In this way, Lessendgames  frequently resemble practical jokes. A situation is created and a trick is played. Lessendgames are set ups and by way of a premise or conceit, a curtain is drawn. The scenario and resulting drama form the basis of the Lessendgame.  After some trial and tribulation, the game usually finishes in a labyrinth of art. Lessendgames exhibit a jovial, party atmosphere and endeavor to be extremely pleasant for the participants.

The “game” of Lessendgame refers to the basic nature of the experience. The scenario allows the participant to play the Lessendgame in any number of ways . While there can be wrong moves, the player will always finish the game on top. The participant must always win and a favorable conclusion is inevitable given the design of the Lessendgame. The “Less” of Lessendgame is meant in the sense of “minus”. The Lessendgame is without(less) an “endgame”- a word which can be taken to refer to an unpleasant game that climaxes in a disturbing fashion. Thus, Lessendgames, in opposition to “endgames,” are pleasant experiences that play out favorably without the heaviness of violence or disturbing situations. There are no fake guns in a Lessendgame. When this word is pronounced, it sounds like Lesson game which reveals another meaning of this moniker. Lessendgames function, in part, as lessons for their participants. Just like in fairy tales, Lessendgames conclude with happy endings. More often than not, they finish with a well catered party.

What then are the lessons of Lessendgames? Lessendgames often serve as reminders to take a fascination in the world around us. Lessendgames also endeavor to steer participants in directions that will be useful to their goals or desires. Also, by connecting the Lessendgames to scientific, historical, artistic or philosophical references, the participant is educated in aspects of an intellectual nature. The Lessendgame can also serve to instruct the participants in aspects of a physical nature. Lessendgames, more often than not, work like puzzles and pose questions rather than answer them. Practical issues are of great  interest in the design of a Lessendgame.

Lessendgames use the art of living and deceased individuals. Many is the Lessendgame that begins with a book or film that has been taken out of the pages of history. By incorporating such works, added depth is given to the Lessendgame  Because such inclusions go beyond mere allusions or references and include entire works, the concept of art architecture is born. These works, in significant ways, form the building blocks of Lessendgames. By way of example, Alice in Wonderland could be used as the prelude of a Lessendgame that involved a trip into another dimension. Or, to provide another example, a participant could be taken to the Korova Milk Bar of A Clockwork Orange. Most Lessendgames involve such inclusions in addition to the usual references or allusions that one expects to find in a work of art. 

Lessendgames are works of serious or high art. Though some of the sources are to be found in popular culture, the tradition of Lessendgames can be traced through the history of fine or high art. For its modern sources one should look to the work of the dadaists and the experiments they inspired. Lessendgames also borrow from the traditions of installation art, happenings and performance art. In addition to these modern sources one can trace its origins to medieval masques, circuses, the carnival tradition and street theater. The principles of magic that are at the heart of Lessendgames have been in use by wizards, kings, leaders, cabaret performers and rebels for thousands of years . Film makers have also put such alchemical processes to work.

Lessendgames involve works not traditionally considered in a serious art context. These can include mass produced objects, inventions, electronic devices or works of design and architecture. Lessendgames enlist the expertise of many persons and occur in actual and created locations. While Lessendgames involve the work of many people they are , like a film or dramatic piece, directed by a single individual. In many fundamental ways this director plays the role of god and creates a situation and scenario for the participant. In some cases whole worlds are built for this lucky individual. Sometimes there are even journeys to other planets.

Many devices are used in the creation and application of Lessendgames. These devices include; cameras, televisions, cars, megaphones, kaleidoscopes, books, computers, sail boats, airplanes, foreign language dictionaries, dictaphones, windmills, bed sheets, space ships, pinball machines, turntables, rubber chickens, trains, lava lamps, portable cassette players, bicycles, guitars, pencils, roller coasters, hammers, printing presses, umbrellas, and spectacles.  

Lessendgames use a variety of locations. These locations include; castles, music clubs, wine cellars, apartments, schools, theaters, forests, cities, public swimming pools, museums, villages, ski resorts, houses, amusement parks, beaches, lecture halls, houses of parliament, palaces, shacks, train stations, mountain ranges, slums, cinemas, libraries, mansions, factories, prisons, stadiums, hospitals, bars, churches, lakes, meadows, circuses, graveyards, gardens, arcades, planets, and playgrounds.

Lessendgames involve people from all walks of life and professions. These people include; accountants, clowns, carpenters, blind poets, waitresses, madmen, computer programmers, electricians, teachers, presidents, absurdists, children, translators, professors, rock groups, vandals, promoters, subversive writers, laborers, academics, lawyers, librarians, criminals, cosmopolitans, bartenders, fair maidens, mechanics, race car drivers, hotel porters, surgeons, clerks, movie stars, the elderly, vegetarians, rebellious youth, managers, comedians, and acrobats.

Lessendgames are done in the tradition of fairy tales. Though there may be problems to solve, as in any game, the participant always finds the way into the pleasure dome. Lessendgames take individuals on sensuous journeys to landscapes of the imagination. By employing sorcery and the art of illusion, old doors have been re-opened and lucky participants will be taken to long forgotten places. By way of the philosopher’s stone, the alchemist delivers paradise...