Sport as symbol : images of the athlete in art, literature and song / Mari Womack.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Womack, Mari.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sports in art.

Physical Description:

vii, 243 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., [2003]

Summary:

Upon first consideration, sport and art seem to occupy separate, even opposing, realms -- sport, associated with physical prowess, and art, with the highest reaches of the human mind. But because sport is such a powerful metaphor for so many human experiences, it has found its way into artistic traditions all over the world. Part One of this book provides a basic understanding of sport as symbol. Part Two gives attention to animals as adversaries and traces the origins of sporting art back to the hunt. Part Three considers humans competing against humans in combat sports, ball games, stick-and-ball games, and racquet sports, as well as in warfare. Part Four concentrates on contesting with oneself in races and sports of grace and beauty such as gymnastics, figure skating and ice dancing. The book concludes with a discussion of the athlete's relationships to society.

Contents:

Sport as symbol

Heroic dramas and athletic actors

Adversary in nature

Hunt: power of life and death

Hunt domesticated: ritual origins of the bullfight

Human adversary

Combat sports: the socialization of conflict

War games

Adversary within

Transcending time and space

Metaphors of love, death, and rebirth

Symbolic actors and social dramas

High priests and super stars.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-237) and index.

ISBN:

0786415797

OCLC:

51914256