At the Paris Olympics, Art Runs in Tandem with Sports — Global Issues

• by SWAN – Southern World Arts News (in Paris)
• Wednesday, July 31, 2024
• Inter Press Service

It has a title Culture in Gamesthe exhibition is among hundreds of artistic and cultural events taking place across France during the 2024 Olympic Games (hosted by the French capital from July 26 to Aug. 11), and is staged alongside many athletic competitions.

The events even have an umbrella name – the Cultural Olympiad – and include photography, painting, sculpture, fashion, and a host of attractions that link art and sport. Most are scheduled to go beyond the closing ceremony of the games.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a “partner” in the Cultural Olympiad, not only organizes regular meetings where managers give high-level speeches, but also shows a series of activities to highlight diversity and inclusion.

Culture in Gamesfor example, it includes about 140 photographs showing memorable aspects of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics since 1924 and presented in conjunction with the Olympic Museum of Lausanne.

Photos show how the country’s delegates have passed on their culture during these events, and photos show athletes like Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, whose “who’s who” appearance has become as much a part of the Games’ legends as he helped make the green, gold, and bright colors. the dark colors of his country’s flag are more visible.

Inside UNESCO’s octagonal building, a series of panels focused on how sport can “change the game”, a theme that runs throughout the organization’s “Olympiad” events. (At the “World Ministerial Meeting” held by UNESCO on July 24, just before the Olympics, officials discussed gender equality, the inclusion of people with disabilities, and the protection of athletes, for example.)

A notable part of the indoor exhibit includes historical photographs honoring athletes who have caused change through their achievements or struggles. Here, one can view the iconic image of American athlete Jesse Owens, “a spanner in the works that completely disrupted the Nazi propaganda machine set up during the 1936 Berlin Olympics,” according to curators.

Owens won four medals at the Games, but “did not receive immediate (official) recognition in his home country” despite being hailed as a hero by the public, as the show notes. Racism in the United States meant that President Franklin D. Roosevelt refused to congratulate him “for fear of losing votes in the Southern states.” The picture shows him standing on a platform in Berlin, and behind him another competitor is giving the “Hitler salute”.

Athletes who changed the world equally includes boxer Mohammad Ali, who in 1967 refused to fight in Vietnam and was stripped of his world title and banned from the ring for three years.

However, perhaps the most famous photo is of players Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 games in Mexico City. “They took off their shoes and marched in socks to protest against the extreme poverty of African Americans,” as the caption reminds viewers. “With solemn faces, Smith and Carlos bowed their heads and raised their black gloved fists, aiming to raise awareness of racism in their country.”

The exhibition highlights the long battles faced by female athletes, and highlights the work of Alice Milliat who, as president of the French Women’s Sports Federation, “campaigned for the inclusion of women in the Olympic Games”. He organized the first Women’s Olympic Games in Paris in 1922, which included five countries and 77 athletes.

Although Milliat “died invisibly” in 1957, “her legacy lives on today, with the Paris 2024 Games highlighting gender equality in sport, largely thanks to her visionary efforts,” the photo’s caption says.

Similarly, the exhibition highlights the contributions of disabled athletes such as Ryadh Sallem, who was born without arms or legs, a victim of the Thalidomide drug that was given to pregnant women in the 1950s and Sixties and caused paralysis in children.

Sallem won 15 French championship titles in swimming and later turned to team sports such as wheelchair basketball and rugby. At UNESCO, his image is featured prominently, along with the story of his hopes for the 2024 Paralympics and his mission to “promote a positive view of disability”.

Elsewhere in the city, artists and museums also paid tribute to the Paralympic competitors, ahead of the Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 to September 8 in Paris.

On the fence around the Gare de l’Est (glorious train station), colorful works by the artist Lorenzo Mattoti show disabled athletes competing in various sports, while the Panthéon presents “Stories of the Disabled: From Sports Inclusion to Social Inclusion (1948). -2024). This interpretation is related to “the history of Paralympism and the challenges of equality,” according to curators Anne Marcellini and Sylvain Ferez.

For fans of sculpture, Paris has an “Olympiad” range that works for free viewing. In June, the city unveiled its official “sculpture olympique” or Olympic statue, created by Los Angeles-based African-American artist Alison Saar, who cites inspiration from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America.

The statue, located near the famous Champs Elysées avenue, shows an African woman sitting holding the flame in front of the Olympic rings, and “embodies the Olympic values ​​of integration and peace,” according to the office of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

However, when it was launched on June 23, it sparked harsh comments from some far-right commentators on social media, who apparently felt threatened by the project.

Another female statue, that of Venus de Milo or the mythical goddess Aphrodite, was “reinterpreted” in six versions by art director Laurent Perbos to symbolize “feminine” sports disciplines, including boxing, archery and surfing. The pictures are standing in front of the National Assembly, and the irony will not be lost on many viewers: French women only got the right to vote in 1944.

Of course, Paris wouldn’t be Paris without some form of art. As the Discussed Opening Ceremony of the Olympics showed, fashion is an important part of these Games, and those who have not had enough of the sometimes questionable clothing can head to another volume called “La Mode en movement #2” (Fashion in Motion #2).

This exhibition at the Palais Galliera / Fashion Museum looks at the history of sportswear from the 18th^th century, with a special focus on swimwear. Among the 250 pieces on display, viewers will find tips on what to wear to beach volleyball.

For more information, see: Olympiade Culturelle (paris2024.org)

© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service