Football, or soccer as they like to call it, is on the up in America. Many European stars are heading there for a last hurrah, such as David Beckham, who has just announced plans to start a Major League Soccer franchise (or team, as we like to call them) in Miami. But it’s his old stomping ground of Los Angeles that can lay claim to being the stronghold of North American soccer. It’s the only U.S. city to boast two MLS teams – Becks’ old club Galaxy and CD Chivas, a subsidiary of Mexican side Guadalajara – and it’s the venue for the exhibition Fútbol: The Beautiful Game being held at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
The game can be divided into two spheres of interest – what happens on the pitch, and what happens off it – and the show is anchored around two such distinct video installations. Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait is a peerless study of the equally incomparable Frenchman by Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon, who track the balletic player exclusively for a whole match and is set to a majestic Mogwai soundtrack. Stephen Dean’s Volta, in contrast, turns the camera on the fans, with a samba soundtrack accompanying the ritualized frenzy in the stands of various stadia. Nearly 30 artists have contributed around 50 works in a variety of media to the exhibition, which is available to enjoy until 20 July.
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Andy Warhol
Pele, 1978
Silkscreen
40 x 40 in
University of Maryland Art Gallery,
College Park, MD
© Andy Warhol Foundation/
Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Lyle Ashton Harris
Verona #2, 2001-2004
Silver gelatin print
16 x 20 in
The Robert E. Holmes Collection
© Lyle Ashton Harris
Kehinde Wiley
Samuel Eto’o, 2010
Oil on canvas
72 x 60 in
Roberts & Tilton Gallery
© Kehinde Wiley
Image courtesy of the artist,
and Roberst & Tilton,
Culver City, California
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Generic Art Solutions
Pieta, 2008
Photograph
36 x 36 in
Courtesy of Jonathan Ferrara Gallery,
New Orleans
© Generic Art Solutions
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Installation view
Fútbol: The Beautiful Game
February 2 – July 20, 2014
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Photo © 2014 Museum Associates/LACMA
Miguel Calderón
Mexico vs Brasil, 2004
Video transferred to DVD
90:00 min
Duration: 1hrs 30 minutes
Courtesy of the artist and kurimanzutto, Mexico City
© Miguel Calderón
