The Dance of Art and Sports
I rarely think about art and sports in combination. Yet, I recently came across a creatively written memoir based on baseball and the collecting of cards. It made me consider how sports are in our everyday lives, whether we consider ourselves a fan or not. As well as art, which surrounds us, often subconsciously, regardless of our status as collectors or museum-goers. Historically society has placed artists and athletes in opposing corners. As children, we are labeled smart, creative, or athletic. Movies depict the teenage tension between the jocks and the art nerds. Yet these two domains, when brought together into a cozy coupling, present intriguing compositions that I had not previously considered.
Anna Park. Answering Machine.
Alvin Armstrong. As Fast As You Can. (2021).
There are few artists that I can think of who use sports as their main focal point, and yet, many exist. This year, Artsy featured eight contemporary artists “taking fresh approaches to sports.” A few of the featured artists include Alvin Armstrong, who paints colorful images of Black men in motion. In contrast, Anna Park uses charcoal to bring a voyeuristic and cartoonish quality to her depictions of tennis players.
For the British, multidisciplinary artist Eddie Peake, the staging of a naked five-a-side football match in Burlington Gardens in 2012 garnered attention as a postgraduate student at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. Peake commented that “it had a brash energy, a wit, and beautiful absurdity.” Peake has since created other performances and pieces that are absurd and frequently erotic spectacles. His intent is to emphasize the verbal and non-verbal modes of communication.
Eddie Peake. Touch. 2012.
In her series Fantasy Life, the photographer Tabitha Soren uses “the game of baseball to unpack the role of luck and uncertainty and heroism and vulnerability in American life.” Soren began by photographing minor league draft picks for the Oakland A’s and followed their baseball lives over fifteen years. Some of the players succeeded in fulfilling their dream to play major league ball, and others did not. The documentation of the journey is both artistic and poignant.
Tabitha Soren. Modesto Nuts bullpen, California, 2014
Just as art reflects our lives, so does it reflect the activities we witness and participate in. David Hockney gave us swimming, while LeRoy Neiman gave us everything from horse racing to golf to skiing. The innocent and formerly incarcerated artist Valentino Dixon spent twenty-seven years behind bars before becoming a prolific painter who creates compositions based on legendary golf courses.
David Hockney. Pool with Two Figures.
The concept of integrating sports into art has been around for centuries. The early years gave us timeless sculptures depicting God-like Greek athletes and frescos of early boxing matches. The eighteenth-century brought forth paintings such as George Stubbs’ Turf, with Jockey up, at Newmarket, ca. 1975, and Henri Rosseau gave us The Football Players (Les joueurs de football), in 1908. As of late, the contemporary artist Julie Mehretu uses her geometric layers to present the 2004 Stadia II triptych.
Julie Mehretu, Stadia II, 2004, Carnegie Museum of Art.
The 2017 college basketball season inspired the exhibition, March Madness, curated by Hank Willis Thomas and Adam Shopkorn, which looked at the sports world from a woman’s perspective. The show included thirty-one female artists who examined the intersection of sports and politics during Women’s History Month. The result was a work of staggering genius to borrow from Dave Eggers. Collectively, the work challenged archetypes and questioned the readily accepted narratives of “race, gender roles, empowerment, politics, and pop culture.”
Art and sports are not so far apart. They both require skill, dedication, and the precise dexterity of allowing one's natural talents to emerge. As an art collector, I will likely see more sport and movement in pieces that I have previously overlooked. Much like Ferris Bueller's advice, if we don't stop to look around once in a while, we might miss something. Including the beautiful dance between art and sports.
Sadie Barnett. Untitled (Pink Bike). 2016.
“Sport is one of the engines of our culture – whether it’s football or baseball – and in my mind the job of the artist is to uncover the world we inhabit.”
Miranda July. Eleven Heavy Things.
Happy New Year. Stay safe, stay sane, and “play ball!”
trw