BODY POWER - POWER PLAY / Views on Sports in Contemporary Art

Sport, as a media event and leisure ritual, is becoming more and more the centre of commercial and personal interest. The ever- greater role sport plays in society, politics and the economy has prompted an investigation of sport in the arts, examining it as a socio-psychological, cultural and individual phenomenon. The focus is on the cult of the star, mass hysteria, and the portrayal of sporting heroes in the media, as well as self- chastisement, obsession with beauty, and fashion trends in the fitness industry.

Body Power/Power Play takes a critical and occasionally also ironic, humorous look at these issues. Thus, in her video work Press Shots, the American artist Julia Loktev focuses on the painful side of the male body ideal, while the Portuguese artist João Penalva presents at the same time both the brutal and fascinating aspects of physical body discipline in the athletic movements of a gymnast. Numerous other artistic perspectives complete this overview with its ample color illustrations.

Edited by Andrea Jahn, texts by Ihor Holubizky, Andrea Jahn, Claudia Lüersen