PARALLEL WORLDS Matti Tainio PARALLEL WORLDS Art and Sport in Contemporary Culture Aalto ARTS Books Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been completed without the great support that I have received from so many people over the years. First I want to thank my supervisors Ossi Naukkarinen and Marja Kanervo, who had guided me through various academic and artistic prob- lems during my work. Ossi’s reassuring manner in advising me and his encouraging comments of my work pushed me to finish my dissertation. Coffees and discussions with Marja helped me to organize my artistic work and execute the projects on the appropriate level for doctoral studies. I am grateful to Taina Kinnunen and Outi Turpeinen for their work as pre-examiners of my dissertation. Their comments were valuable and helped me to do the final improvements of my text. Furthermore, I want to thank Arto Haapala, Markus Kåhre and Soile Veijola for examining my artistic projects. The members of research project Artification and Its Impact on Art pro- vided me a rich view to the academic world both in Finland and abroad. Aalto University publication series Pauline von Bonsdorff, Seppo Knuuttila, Yrjänä Levanto and Yrjö Sepän- DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 16/2015 maa, I am grateful to you for your insights and comments about my work on various occasions. Kari Korolainen and Kaisa Mäki-Petäjä, thank you School of Arts, Design and Architecture for collegial support and company during the project. I want to express my Aalto ARTS Books special gratitude to the international partners of the project, who attended Helsinki our meetings and seminars and kindly commented on my work in its vari- books.aalto.fi ous phases. Thank you Aleš Erjavec, Yuriko Saito and Wolfgang Welsch. My work would not have been possible without the financial support from various organizations: I am grateful to The Academy of Finland, Jenny © Matti Tainio and Antti Wihuri Foundation as well as Aalto University for funding my work. Furthermore, I want to thank Arts Council of Finland, University of Graphic design: Camilla Sirén Art and Design Helsinki, Regional Arts Council of South-West Finland, State Materials: Munken Lynx 120g, Multiart Silk Art Council, Visek and The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland for Fonts: Adobe Garamond Pro, Adelle Sans supporting my artistic work in the context of my research. In addition, Photographs by Matti Tainio unless stated otherwise I thank Pirkko-Liisa Topelius, Stiftelsen Pro Artibus and Sport Museum of Finland for providing the exhibition spaces for my artistic projects. ISBN 978-952-60-6067-5 (printed) I would like to address very warm thanks to my fellow doctoral candi- ISBN 978-952-60-6068-2 (pdf) dates, who worked with me along the gallery corridor at the Arabia cam- ISSN-L 1799-4934 pus and became my friends during the years. Marko Karo, Iina Kohonen, ISSN 1799-4934 (printed) Harri Pälviranta and Hanna Weselius - thank you for your company. ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf) I am especially thankful to my mother Riitta Tainio for all kind of help and support she has provided me. Printed in Unigrafia, Finland Finally, I wish to thank my family: Larissa, Verna and Reko thank you 2015 for enduring me during my research. Table of contents Warming Up 11 1 • On the Run – Running as the Subject of Art & the Means of Making Art 23 The Preparatory Process 33 The Art Project 35 The First Exhibition 36 Artworks 37 A Transient Assessment 40 2 • Practices, History and the Changing Meanings 47 Practices as Carriers of Meanings 54 The Role of Paradigms 57 Art and Sport as Systems 59 3 • The Development of the Modern Practices of Art and Sport 63 Before Art and Sport 68 Towards the Modern Conception of Art and Sport 74 The Transition to the Category of Art 77 The Genesis of Sport 84 The Further Refinement of Art and Sport 93 4 • The Diverse Field In-Between 101 Art – Play – Sport 114 Other Works 121 Some Halfway Conclusions 122 5 • Participating and Perceiving 125 The Double Role of the Participant 128 Conducting Research from the Author’s Point of View 129 The Protagonists 137 Artworld and Sportworld 139 The Audience, the Spectator, the Perceiver 140 6 • The Aesthetic Links 157 The Impact of Postmodern 161 The Significance of Aesthetics 163 Aesthetic Experience 169 Aesthetics in the Expanded Field 170 Contemporary Art and Aesthetics 175 The Aesthetic and Artistic in Sport 177 Recent Comparisons of Art and Sport 192 A Closer Look: The Aesthetics of Distance Running 197 7 • Artification 203 The Artification of Sport 207 Artifying Sport 211 8 • What I Think When I Think About Running 219 The Artworks 245 Artistic Transitions 248 9 • Sport in Art – Art as Sport 251 Sport in Contemporary Art 254 The Broad Field of Artistic Opportunities 262 10 • The Contemporary Cultures in Art and Sport 265 The Expanding Fields 268 Experiences and Processes 276 The Final Stretch 287 Bibliography 290 Abstract 306 Abstrakti 310 Warming Up Warming Up Art and sport are inseparable parts of contemporary culture. There is no way to escape their presence. Even if one is not interested in them they are present, not necessarily directly but implicitly, as tendencies in visual culture or sport-related idioms in everyday parlance. If one is an art enthusiast or a sport fan, they can form the substance of life. A real addict can even adapt other com- ponents of her life according to the important events in art or sport. Even though the same person can be enthusiastic about art and sport, an affinity between the practices themselves is seldom expected. Much more often, they are seen as adversaries. In every- day situations , art is identified as something distant and strange, elitist, even difficult, and sport as vulgar, pedestrian and popular. The similar character of the practices as producers of first-rate experiences is hidden by the apparent differences in their status and content. Common perspectives on art and sport are generally simplified, which conceal their various connotations. My interest in art and sport arises from both the artist’s and athlete’s point of view. I am an artist and I have a life-long interest in visual arts. I have never been a sports fan, but sport has been part of my life through the various sports I have been engaged in. My practical everyday activities with art and sport were the first catalysts for the idea of combining art and sport in the same context. Both artist and athlete are at the center of these practices; they are the prime movers. While their objectives are different, the personal reasons for engaging in these practices can be a similar quest for experiences. In addition, the structures of the frame- works around the artist and athlete are alike. Both practices form an independent realm within more practical activities in society. There are inherent rules that deviate from everyday understanding; the mechanism of valuing achievements is based on a different rationale than the normal, utilitarian functions of society. And so, the combination of art and sport became tempting. The idea of connecting art and sport first emerged in my artistic work, but later the idea of employing the concept for a research project began to seem viable. If a superficial inspection revealed some similarities between the practices of art and sport, proceeding with a more detailed inquiry should reveal more. 10 11 Warming Up Consequently, my research links art and sport together in tendencies come into view. Indeed, the variety of connections an unorthodox manner, viewing them as parallel practices, thus between art and sport come into view only if they are observed providing the possibility for novel perspectives into them and through different disciplines. subsequently attempting to clarify their current meanings and The organized structure of art and sport as cultural practices composition. The research deals with the similarities, parallels, and is emphasized through the research: the tendencies within art connections between art and sport. and sport practices are studied as the systems, universal patterns, While I have focused on making an inquiry about the connec- structures, and habits of action. The study of systems reveals those tions between art and sport in contemporary culture, the following patterns that usually are shadowed by individual instances and questions have acted as the guidelines for my research: events. From the chosen perspective, art can be seen as a practice What kind of meanings do art and sport carry, and how producing certain types of artifacts or events using a certain set of have these meanings changed over time? techniques, to be enjoyed according to certain standards, and sport How are art and sport understood today? can be seen as a physical activity in a formalized and symbolic What kind of connections can be found between art and setting, producing experiences and measurable achievements that sport and how have they developed over time? are enjoyed according to different standards from art. How can the connections between art and sport be explored The written research forms a narrative of my search for various and presented through artistic work? ways to connect art and sport and analyzes the character of the What kinds of new perspectives on art and sport can be connections and their changes over the course of time. In addi- obtained, firstly by clashing the practices together, tion, in order to demonstrate my specific perspectives on art and and secondly by employing artistic methods in sport? sport, I have used my text to openly reveal the reasoning behind How do the disappearing borders between cultural the arguments made and viewpoints taken.