Roaming around LACMA on Tuesday

I visited two exhibits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art today.  The first one is the latest in David Hockney's video creations:  "The Jugglers" June 24th 2012.  Hockney used eighteen fixed cameras to record a procession of jugglers as John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" plays in the background.  The posted information states:  "Displayed in a multiscreen grid that generates a larger, intensified image, the resulting film opens the viewing experience to various moments in time than a single one.  For Hockney, this blending of numerous views, "forces the eye to scan, and it is impossible to see everything at once...gives back the choice to the view, and hence, it seems to me, brings about possibilities for new narratives."

For me, it was fun to set and enjoy watching each of the dozen jugglers perform, drop, and laugh.  I had a delightful 15 minutes taking it all in.

This is a photograph of David Hockney viewing the jugglers on his computer showing the 18 screens.

This is a photo of Hockney meeting some of the jugglers before the filming.

The next exhibit I visited is called "Futbol:  The Beautiful Game" which is being presented on the eve of the World Cup which is held every four years.  The exhibit of the works of more than thirty artists.  "The sport has often been cited as a metaphor for nations, for cultures, and even for life."  "The themes include Masculinity and the construction of heroes; ritual and worship; marketing and power; and current political, social, and cultural phenomena."

"Maracana," 2009 by Nelson Leirner, Brazil, b. 1992
The players and audience consist of hundreds of small statuettes of religious and pop-culture figures.  Holland Cotter, in his review wrote:  "The World Cup at stake here is, apparently, the world itself, threatened by the imperialism of military power and religious dogma, and by the militant secular religion of consumer culture."

Parallel," 2009-11 by George Afedzi Hughes, Ghana, b.1962, acrylic, oil, and enamel on canvas

Made in the Colonies, 2008-2011 by George Afedzi Hughes
In the above two paintings the artist represents football objects.  "Everything is for sale, degraded to a commodity that is determined by factors very much outside the sport itself, such as money and violence."

"Celebracions," 2009 by Antoni Muntadas, Spain, b. 1942
This is a picture of one of the many videos showing celebrations on the field.

"Samuel Eto'o," 2010 by Kehinde Wiley, United States, b. 1977 oil on canvas

"Pele," 1978 by Andy Warhol, U.S., 1928-1987, silkscreen
"How do you spell Pele?" a Sunday Times journalist inquired of a fan after the 1970 football final against Italy, "G-O-D" was the answer. Andy Warhol painted the pop culture of the 1970's attaching himself to figures permeating the world. He was facinated by their societal influence.  (According to the plaque next to the work).