Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Football and Art at LACMA


Catherine Opie: Figure and Landscape,” an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), focuses on high school football. Over the past three years, photographer Catherine Opie went to football games in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, New York and Texas to take pictures.


According to LACMA, this project allowed Opie to explore masculinity, community and national identity. “It’s another chapter in her ongoing exploration of how gender constitutes identity and being part of a group within society can create or limit opportunities for shaping one’s life,” says curator Britt Salvesen. The background of each image shows the landscape in which the photograph was taken, while the players reflect diversity in identity and behavior.


This exhibition is shown in conjunction with “Manly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins.” Both collections use male athletes to focus on idealism and realism.


“Catherine Opie: Figure and Landscape” is on view through October 17.

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