Date/Time
Date(s) - August 28, 2015 - December 18, 2015
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Location
Gregory Allicar Museum of Art, University Center for the Arts
August 28 – December 18, 2015
The University Art Museum presents Scrimmage: Football in American Art from the Civil War to the Present, the first comprehensive survey of original works by prominent American artists examining the quintessentially American sport of football, a sport with its origins in the 19th century Ivy League colleges of the eastern seaboard. Following the CSU venue, the exhibition will travel to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon. Through the enthusiastic response of institutions and private collectors throughout the country, the exhibition brings works from major museums and private collections by important artists from the 19th through the 21st century including Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, George Bellows, John Steuart Curry, Thomas Hart Benton, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and a host of others.
Through paintings, prints, sculpture, photography, and new-media art featured in this exhibition, football can be read as a cultural narrative that reflects attitudes and transitions in our country’s history. Significant artists have regularly depicted aspects of the sport which reflect themes central to American life from the Civil War period to the present day: class; race, assimilation, and integration; gender relationships and the place of women in sports; patriotism and capitalism; violence and war; public spectatorship; and mass-media/celebrity culture.
The exhibition illuminates and reveals themes that continue from the earliest historical images to the present day. For example, debates about violence and long-term health issues were explored by artists as early as the 19th century. The exhibition examines these artworks through multiple interpretative formats – text, special programming events, and an exhibition catalogue – in order to involve a broad spectrum of visitors in this important discussion.
Scrimmage is a truly interdisciplinary project; the museum is pleased to thank our CSU Team: Dr. Albert Bimper (Ethnic Studies), Dr. Robert Gudmestad (History), Dr. Emily Moore (Art and Art History), Dr. Constance DeVereaux (LEAP Institute), Dr. Nancy Jianakoplos (Economics), the CSU Marching Band, and the Department of Athletics for their support and participation. This exhibition is organized by the University Art Museum at Colorado State University and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon.