A new international exhibit in South Africa has 160 artists, meticulously selected by a team of curators. The works are inspired by soccer and South Africa’s first World Cup. Artists from the continent apart from five from each of the 32 participating countries in the WC were commissioned to create original works of art celebrating the game. The outcome is an eclectic show. The exhibit’s MD, Craig Mark, has been quoted as saying in The NYT:
“There has always been a natural synergy between sport and art and culture. If you go back and look at bushman art, early cave painting, you see sport being illustrated within those paintings. In Africa, football plays a very important role in terms of our daily experience. You have a lot of these artists having never come to Africa but interpreting what they feel Africa is all about within their works, some of which are very abstract in nature. There’s definitely a soccer theme that carries throughout. In some of the works, animals play quite a strong role.”
This is the first time ever that soccer’s world governing body has chosen to license original art works for a show. It was challenging to identify artists from countries like North Korea with so little known about them, but the organizers accomplished the task. According to the exhibit’s general manager, Robert Spaul, the official imprimatur of tournament organizers meant the participation of some top name artists from across the globe was ensured.
Instead of merely tom-toming the global spirit of the sport, Clint Strydom like his fellow South African artists has opted to highlight the game in a vastly different light, depicting its human side and giving it a reality check. The works certainly add a new dimension and perspective to the event from several sensitive artists’ viewpoint.
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