Spice Chess

[2] "Takako Saito engaged with Duchamp's practice but also with masculinist cold war metaphors by taking up chess as a subject of [her] art.

[6] Her skill exceeded expectations, leading him to write that 'her craftmanship springs from Japanese tradition for perfection and is unmatched among contemporary artists working in wood and paper.'

The series she created relegated or removed the dominant visual aspect of the game, replacing it with sets that relied upon the honing of other senses to play.

This elegantly placed anti-war statement, particularly taken in the context of the Vietnam War...[draws] attention to the deeply militaristic metaphors embedded in... games by conscientiously objecting to their implicit narratives of combat and enmity.

Saito's place within the group has gradually become more established, and the playing of Fluxchess has become an integral part of a number of recent Fluxus exhibitions.

[19] An original example of Spice Chess is one of a number of Fluxchess sets held in the Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection, Detroit, Michigan.