Body Power/Power Play : Views of Sport in Contemporary Art

Today, sport as a media event is increasingly the centre of commercial and personal interest.

An investigation into the role sports play in society, politics and the economy, is now taking place in the arts.

The focus is on star cult, mass hysteria and their portrayals in the media, as well as self-chastisement, obsession with beauty and fashion trends in the fitness industry. This text takes a critical, occasionally ironical look at these issues.

In her video work "Press Shots", the American artist, Julia Loktev focuses on the painful side of the male body ideal, while the Portuguese artist Joao Penalva presents the brutal and at the same time fascinating aspects of physical body discipline in gymnastics.

Numerous other artistic perspectives complete this overview, which is illustrated throughout in colour.