YES, PAINTING, DRAWING, SCULPTURE AND WRITING WERE OLYMPIC EVENTS!!!!
I may have actually heard that fact years ago, but every time the Olympics come back around, a nagging thought lingers in the back of my mind. I think of all of the artists in the world, working hours and hours every day to be better at their art, or even the best at it.
We all know how hard those athlete's work to be the very best at their passion. We see it, hear it, watch it; all day, everyday. Over and over and over. How many ESPN channels are there now?? And wow, with all of those endorsements, and all of that praise showered upon you. The whole world watching and amazed by your every little accomplishment! I don't want to sound negative or bitter here, I am just honestly puzzled.
Here's a fact most of you know already know about me. I am not passionate about sports. There, I said it. Period. True. (I know I am going out on a limb here, it is positively unAmerican to not glorify and worship sports.) I know, I've just risked my popularity.
I have spent decades of my life listening to people talk about sports. Golf, tennis, swimming, training for a marathon; yep, I've heard about all of the trials, the effort, the challenges. Don't even get me started on our kids and sports!!! Wow, I've listened to how athletes must constantly work and practice, everyday, in order to improve......in order to finish that marathon.
I guess you know where I'm going with this. A couple of year's ago, a dear friend of mine, who excels at the game of golf, (Country Club champ, how many years running? I hear she plays a Beautiful game!) was here for dinner with her husband. As we were in the kitchen tossing a salad, she looked around the great room, and waved her hand at all of my paintings, and said "Kathy, why do you work so hard at this?" I stared back blankly. She continued, "I mean, your classes are full. You've won awards. Your work is great, so why do you work so many long, hard hours everyday, when you don't have to?"
Ahhh, to be an artist. So misunderstood. Doesn't she know I'm competing in the Fine Art Olympics? Or at least trying to get into the regionals! (Fellow artists, you know what I'm talking about; OPA Eastern Regionals, perhaps?) Seriously, I don't want to improve for any other reason than I know that I can, and I must. If God's given me a talent, and a passion, how can I let a day go by without nurturing it, honing it? Sharing it with others; especially my students.
My husband begged me out of the studio the other night. He said I just had to come down and see this story about a high school age Olympian, who gushed on and on about her passion (swimming or soccer, I didn't really pay attention) and she thanked everyone for supporting her, etc, So many people gave their lives to helping her follow this passion. Making sure she could devote thousands of hours towards this gift. She simply must follow this passion! It was a great story. Can I go back to the studio now?
One more thing, someone once mentioned a little mind game; similar to "What one food would you have if you were on a deserted island the rest of your life, and could only have that one food? But, the question was this "Would you accept a million dollars, with the contingency that you would have to give up your one true passion, for the rest of your life?" So, the point of the game is tell me what that one passion would be, and could you accept that offer? It makes me very sad when people have no answer to this, and I've seen it many times. Life, and passion, in so many forms are out there-go grab one, and run with it!!! Be inspired by those Olympic athletes, if that works for you. Or perhaps, be inspired by that quiet artist, musician or writer, working alone in their little studio!
Here is the full Olympics and Fine Arts article that I came across in the blog, Artist Daily.
It's that time again: the time for nations big and small to meet and lay claim to their dominance based on overinflated biceps--um, I mean, athletic prowess. I'm talking about the Olympics, of course.
Whether you're an avid Games-watcher or you could care less, chances are you didn't know that the Olympics used to be more than just a brawn-fest. It also used to award gold medals to artists.
As Mental Floss notes, fine art competitions were originally part of the Olympics in ancient Greek times and were later reinstated, during the 1912 Games.
The first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens. The man who revived the Games, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, was also the force behind the inclusion of art as sport.
According to Mental Floss, "Coubertin's vision for the modern Olympics was only partly realized with the Athens Games. In the ensuing years, he devoted himself to reestablishing art competitions--a staple of the Games in ancient Greece--as part of the quadrennial Olympiad. Coubertin felt strongly that art was as much a part of the Olympic ideal as athletics. As documented in Richard Stanton's thoroughly researched book on the subject, The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions, Coubertin once wrote: 'Deprived of the aura of the art contests, Olympic games are only world championships.'"
It wasn't until the 1912 Summer Olympics in Sweden, however, that Coubertin's vision was finally realized: "We are to reunite in the bonds of legitimate wedlock a long-divorced couple--Muscle and Mind." The original fine art categories were architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature. All entries were to be inspired by the theme of sport.
After the 1928 Games, painting was split into three categories: drawing, graphic art, and painting. These changed again in 1932, this time to painting, prints, and watercolors, and they continued to morph alongside the larger trends of the art world.
The fine art portion of the Olympics was discontinued in 1948 because artists were deemed "professionals," and Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs. And to think--you coulda been a contender!
Jean Jacoby remains the only artist to win two gold medals; he won his second with the figure drawing, titled Rugby.
Whether you're an Olympic-level painter or more of a weekend watercolorist, why not challenge yourself to reach further with your art this summer? Find out how you stack up by entering in our own version of the Olympics, the 75th Anniversary American Artist competition.
--Amy
I may have actually heard that fact years ago, but every time the Olympics come back around, a nagging thought lingers in the back of my mind. I think of all of the artists in the world, working hours and hours every day to be better at their art, or even the best at it.
We all know how hard those athlete's work to be the very best at their passion. We see it, hear it, watch it; all day, everyday. Over and over and over. How many ESPN channels are there now?? And wow, with all of those endorsements, and all of that praise showered upon you. The whole world watching and amazed by your every little accomplishment! I don't want to sound negative or bitter here, I am just honestly puzzled.
Here's a fact most of you know already know about me. I am not passionate about sports. There, I said it. Period. True. (I know I am going out on a limb here, it is positively unAmerican to not glorify and worship sports.) I know, I've just risked my popularity.
I have spent decades of my life listening to people talk about sports. Golf, tennis, swimming, training for a marathon; yep, I've heard about all of the trials, the effort, the challenges. Don't even get me started on our kids and sports!!! Wow, I've listened to how athletes must constantly work and practice, everyday, in order to improve......in order to finish that marathon.
I guess you know where I'm going with this. A couple of year's ago, a dear friend of mine, who excels at the game of golf, (Country Club champ, how many years running? I hear she plays a Beautiful game!) was here for dinner with her husband. As we were in the kitchen tossing a salad, she looked around the great room, and waved her hand at all of my paintings, and said "Kathy, why do you work so hard at this?" I stared back blankly. She continued, "I mean, your classes are full. You've won awards. Your work is great, so why do you work so many long, hard hours everyday, when you don't have to?"
Ahhh, to be an artist. So misunderstood. Doesn't she know I'm competing in the Fine Art Olympics? Or at least trying to get into the regionals! (Fellow artists, you know what I'm talking about; OPA Eastern Regionals, perhaps?) Seriously, I don't want to improve for any other reason than I know that I can, and I must. If God's given me a talent, and a passion, how can I let a day go by without nurturing it, honing it? Sharing it with others; especially my students.
My husband begged me out of the studio the other night. He said I just had to come down and see this story about a high school age Olympian, who gushed on and on about her passion (swimming or soccer, I didn't really pay attention) and she thanked everyone for supporting her, etc, So many people gave their lives to helping her follow this passion. Making sure she could devote thousands of hours towards this gift. She simply must follow this passion! It was a great story. Can I go back to the studio now?
One more thing, someone once mentioned a little mind game; similar to "What one food would you have if you were on a deserted island the rest of your life, and could only have that one food? But, the question was this "Would you accept a million dollars, with the contingency that you would have to give up your one true passion, for the rest of your life?" So, the point of the game is tell me what that one passion would be, and could you accept that offer? It makes me very sad when people have no answer to this, and I've seen it many times. Life, and passion, in so many forms are out there-go grab one, and run with it!!! Be inspired by those Olympic athletes, if that works for you. Or perhaps, be inspired by that quiet artist, musician or writer, working alone in their little studio!
Here is the full Olympics and Fine Arts article that I came across in the blog, Artist Daily.
It's that time again: the time for nations big and small to meet and lay claim to their dominance based on overinflated biceps--um, I mean, athletic prowess. I'm talking about the Olympics, of course.
Whether you're an avid Games-watcher or you could care less, chances are you didn't know that the Olympics used to be more than just a brawn-fest. It also used to award gold medals to artists.
 | |
| Fine art competitions were originally part of the Olympics in ancient Greek times and were later reinstated, during the 1912 Games. |
The first modern Olympics were held in 1896 in Athens. The man who revived the Games, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin, was also the force behind the inclusion of art as sport.
According to Mental Floss, "Coubertin's vision for the modern Olympics was only partly realized with the Athens Games. In the ensuing years, he devoted himself to reestablishing art competitions--a staple of the Games in ancient Greece--as part of the quadrennial Olympiad. Coubertin felt strongly that art was as much a part of the Olympic ideal as athletics. As documented in Richard Stanton's thoroughly researched book on the subject, The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions, Coubertin once wrote: 'Deprived of the aura of the art contests, Olympic games are only world championships.'"
 | |
After the 1928 Games, painting was split into three categories: drawing, graphic art, and painting. These changed again in 1932, this time to painting, prints, and watercolors, and they continued to morph alongside the larger trends of the art world.
The fine art portion of the Olympics was discontinued in 1948 because artists were deemed "professionals," and Olympic athletes were required to be amateurs. And to think--you coulda been a contender!
 | ||
| Jean Jacoby's Olympic winning figure drawing. |
Whether you're an Olympic-level painter or more of a weekend watercolorist, why not challenge yourself to reach further with your art this summer? Find out how you stack up by entering in our own version of the Olympics, the 75th Anniversary American Artist competition.
--Amy
I love reading your blog everyday but I feel very differently than you do on this topic. The Olympics is about sports and once every four years these people who work incredibly hard are recognized. The arts have their "Olympics" every year through the Grammys, Tonys, Oscars, CMA, etc. (Have to admit I don't know the Fine arts awards). They also have the Pulitzer, Booker, etc yearly for literature. The sciences have their Nobel prize. The varying degrees of hoopla associated with them seems to me related to how frequently the participants are recognized and how fun it is to watch. The participants in the Olympics are the best in the world at what they do and I think that they should be recognized along with all the other greats that receive awards in their different fields.
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