Thursday, May 29, 2008

Shameless Self Promotion

Frieze just published a short essay I wrote on some recent art about football - you can see it on their site and of course in the print issue on stands throughout the summer. I think it might possibly be a first for the magazine - I'm thrilled to be leading the charge into the world of contemporary football art criticism (right, 'ecstasy' by Yrsa Roca Fannberg, one of my favorite artworks 'about' soccer). Note: I discuss a Hellmuth Costard experimental film from 1970, Football As Never Before (due for a DVD rerelease in Europe this month). There are clips of this crazy/beautiful study of George Best at work in a match against Coventry on You Tube - totally worth checking out. I'm taking a breather from the blog until I get back from Clacton - expect a full report on the sweaty glory mid June.

10 comments:

  1. Off topic: jennifer, hi.

    I came here trough a serious of jumps between blogs,

    And i take the chance to ask you something.

    Do you know - is it from your konowledge here in the internet can itbe found old photos of nazi/italian fascist teams in mid 30´s of course?

    Im´m portuguese by the way and there as reason for this.

    I explain.
    A wll know comercial portuguese company as "created"a poster in pseudo support of the portuguese team.

    The poster is too similar to old images that i once saw from propaganda images of either, nazi teams or italian fascist teams.

    I don´t know ( i thinks it was or in books or newspaper articles many years ago) here i seen it,mas i did see it.

    Therefore i´m trying to get "sources" of similar images to post that on the my blog making a small comparative essay about the subject.

    The image of the "comercial poster" is in "V" with 4 former portuguese internationals, plus CR7 on the middle.

    Totalitarian aesthetics made by marketing kids fresh out of college with an acute desire to amuse the boss.

    If you can help or know any archives somewhere please let me know.

    Since you are in england...and are british i supose

    D-x

    Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hmm. such a good question! there is a book called "football and fascism" published by Berg Publishers in England - it sounds like it's pretty good, and it might give you some leads on how to research this. according to a google search the author, Simon Martin, is on the faculty at the University College London, but I can't figure out in what department. Also - John Foot (that's his name!) wrote a book on Italian football - he teaches at the University of London - I believe in the Italian department.

    But the best person to contact is no doubt Vanda Wilcox - who has her own respected football blog Spangley Princess (http://spanglyprincess.blogspot.com/) - she know lots about especially Italian Football. She will also probably write you back.

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jennifer, thanks.

    I´ll ask Vanda wilcox if she knows were to find.

    I´m rather interested ins doing this, because ,so that you know,yesterday, in portugal
    (ahhhhhhhhh) 5 channels of TV spend 8 hours all broadcasting
    bullshit images of "the plain" that takes the star idiots to switzerland, images from the benches of the plain, the wings of the plain, the tarmac, the sky above the plain, the costumes of the players, the portuguese imigrants saying all kinds of stupid things , and

    buy "X" and support the "selecção" , buy a flag for just one euro and support the selecção" etc and etc and etc

    And i´m sick of it.

    I like football, but i´m fed up with the bullshits of MR Scolari around the team.

    HE created the totalitarian environment arond he time and everything else is following, and is sickening.

    You know that bettet than me, but is starting to resemble the 1936 environment when the english national team went to germany to play and the players salute in the nazi way.

    (I´m sorry for the rant, i´m very angry with i´m watching here...)

    ReplyDelete
  4. i understand your anger. i am actually from the U.S., so, since 2000, like half the country, i have been stewing with rage... though i was thinking the other day, we don't really have a 'national team' like other countries do - nobody at home really cares about the US national football/soccer team (they suck), and with our other big sports - they don't really compete against other nations on the level of something like the world cup.

    it is a relection of what's called 'american exceptionalism' whereby the US makes exceptions for itself, makes itself the master of its own universe. sigh.

    i've posted a link to your blog on mine. i wish i could read portugese!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jennifer: thnaks for the link

    i´ll reciprocate when the laziness of doing reciprocal links passes( i´m owing a lot of people that :( )

    Even being from the US you are in london so you´il get the spirit of the thing, although the englihs arare more balanced than here.

    AS to 2000 forward i understand exactly. Sence the summit in azores-2003 lot´s of people here are fuming...also.

    And here we are under a blockade n the news. For instance for over more than a month there are no news about Irak- to give you an example.

    It has been washed below the carpet...

    As for the US soccer team yhey are poor, but whenever i watch bbc sports foruns and americans talk about soccer they actually think that the US team is the seventh wonder...

    AAmerican excepcinalism aka Monroe doctrine applied to sports...ina simbolic way.

    As to read in portuguese you can use the google translations which aren´t so bad these days.

    I´m planning on opening a blog in english to translate some of the portuguese texts in english alonside with improving the writing, but i couldn´t get myself yet convicned about the idea.

    I´ts just a necessity to break the blockade.

    In Portuga at the moment we are living in a fantasy country at the moment with an alledged left wing government doig more or less what Bush is doing in amercia, but here they actually try to convince people that they are " the modern left wing" and similar crap.

    The reults are being catastrophic

    And football is starting to have - to be used as a distraction weapon.

    It´s annoying apart from other problems and the nationalistic aproach in the bad sense of nationalism that all this envolves.
    Disgusting.

    At the same time portuguese people wait to years for cirurgy in the hospitals or go to Cuba or Spain to make eye operations.

    One spanish doctor came to Portugal and in 45 days made 900 operations on the eyes of old people by a cost by person of 1500 euros.

    The super doctors of the national system of heath in average make 50 a year.

    Beetween this and the alienation of people about the bullshit portuguese team of soccer i think you see the problems - the kind of problems we are having here.

    But vanity prevails...

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi - Found something I wouldn't mind getting your view on - perhaps a story idea:http://www.newstatesman.com/society/2008/06/female-fans-women-football

    female hooligans

    ReplyDelete
  7. Patrycja,

    Thank you for the tip - I think I will take this topic up. It's an intriguing article. Where are you located?

    Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  8. I just began reading your blog...most interesting! I am a fan of football as well. If,by some divine intervention,I got my lazy, coporate-drone self back into shape, I would join my local woman's football league and reunite with the sport that I played for 13 years. I noticed that you are somewhat new to playing the sport. I, on the other hand, have fond/massochistic memories of soccer training camps I participated in. So, if you would like any advice/tips, I would be more than happy to share the plethora of my knowledge with you. Simply, the best advice is truly practicing. The more you touch the ball, the more you'll improve. Also, "juggling" the ball with your foot (mainly the place on your foot where the laces are) thighs, knees, head and chest, you will build coordination and balance. Viva *women's* football!

    ReplyDelete
  9. http://wnt-ussoccer.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Jennifer,
    I am in Toronto.
    Sorry for the late reply.

    ReplyDelete

Feedback? Let me know what you think. Just an FYI: all comments posted to this blog are recorded, whether I publish them or not. I do not publish generally hateful comments - whether they be directed at me or at players and teams or other readers. I appreciate reader feedback, especially from those whose contributions add nuance and complexity to the story.

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