The Los Angeles County Museum of Art features recent work by the internationally renowned and LA-based photographer Catherine Opie. The show’s primary focus is high-school football, a subject that allowed Opie to explore issues of masculinity, community, and national identity. Over the last three years, Opie photographed football games and players in seven states across America. Atmospheric cues locate each regional site, while gestures and gazes reveal the adolescent players’ disparate psychologies. Looking past the clichés associated with football, Opie perceives diversity in the individuals and communities that celebrate the game. Shown in conjunction with LACMA’s exhibitionManly Pursuits: The Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins, Opie’s work similarly addresses and overturns conventions of idealism and realism.
This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and made possible by the Wasserman Foundation.