Lowe Art Museum’s ‘Knockout’

WITH THE OLYMPIC GLOW STILL UPON US, LOWE TAKES ON WOMEN IN SPORTS

It’s taken decades, but it seems as though public enthusiasm for women’s sports has reached a tipping point. Whether it’s college phenom-turned-Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark’s much-hyped entry into the WNBA or the array of U.S. gold medals for women competing in the Paris Olympics, female leagues and competitions have never been more popular.

Now, the art world is starting to take notice. Featuring 11 artists and 15 sports, “She’s A Knockout: Sport, Gender, and the Body in Contemporary Art,” focuses on women in sports through mid-September at the Lowe Art Museum at University of Miami. The timing may be serendipitous, but according to curator Caitlin Swindell, the show has been in the works for awhile.

“I had noticed in recent years a lot of exhibitions that incorporated sports in some way,” says Swindell, but not much “really focused on women and identity with regard to sports.”

There has been an effort from museums to look at sports through the lens of art. Swindell cites the soccer-focused “The World’s Game” at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and a show at the Cummer Museum in Jacksonville, which earlier this year focused on women’s sporting attire from the early 20th century. Swindell even looked into a 2001 photography exhibition at the Smithsonian titled “Game Face: What Does a Female Athlete Look Like?” She felt a different perspective was needed.

“A lot of people will say, ‘Oh, this is an exhibition about sports,’ which it is, in part,” she says. “But I would say it’s more about identity and using sports as a vehicle to explore different facets of identity.”

In her painting “Huddle,” American artist Fay Sanders shows a group of girls gathered in a team embrace. The artwork’s colors are designed to resemble Matisse’s famous painting “La Danse,” but Sanders has clothed her subjects, refuting the original painting’s male gaze. Monica Kim Garza, on the other hand, proudly deploys near-nudity in her paintings, in which this American of Mexican and Korean heritage depicts curvy, brown-skinned women reminiscent of Gaugin. Instead of objectifying her subjects as the male artist did with Tahitian natives, Kim Garza shows them enjoying their bodies free of shame, surfing and playing tennis and golf.

The body is another emergent theme, especially in Finnish artist Riikka Hyvönen’s work. Her series “Roller Derby Kisses” depicts the bruises women sustain during roller derby matches, as well as the flamboyant hotpants that athletes wear. It’s a version of femininity that celebrates toughness without compromising style.

American photographer Eddie Lanieri focuses on female boxers in Louisiana and Texas as part of her “Southern Bells” series. Nearby, British artist Zoë Buckman relates to her own experience of the sport with a series of sculptures: “Heavy Rag,” a punching bag covered with quilted linen, “Bubblegum Boxing Glove,” a small, pink blown-glass sculpture in the shape of a boxing glove, and a pair of hanging sculptures where gloves have been fashioned from frilly and colorful fabrics.

The idea that women can exist and thrive in spaces traditionally dominated by men is central to one of the largest works in the show, a series of 12 photo portraits by German artist Sophie Kirchner called “Male Sport.” Photographed dead center in square frames, the photos show female athletes immediately after they’ve finished a match in one of three intensely physical sports: hockey, water polo, and rugby.

These works force us to question what we expect when looking at women. Are power, strength, and toughness acceptable, or do we prefer beauty and meekness, the things that animate traditional ideas of femininity? Look for yourself and decide.

Lowe Art Museum at The University of Miami
1301 Standford Drive
10 AM to 4 PM, Wed-Sat. Through Sept. 14. Free
(305) 284-3535
LOWE.MIAMI.EDU

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Words and Photos by Douglas Markowitz, Artburst Miami
ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for stories about theater, dance, visual arts, film, and music. www.artburstmiami.com.

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