Sport is art in motion. It is an evolving test of the human physique and psyche. The perception of those unable to reach the heights of performance is malleable, and the ability to influence perceived messages emanating from sport has always been the holy grail of contest, a source of power. As Lord John Dalberg-Acton famously said, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” So how has sport become so corrupted? Much more than wins and losses, the messages expressed through the lens, mic, and pen directly affect the audience’s perception. Furthermore, it is an anomaly for the performer to effectively color outside the lines, succeed using unforeseen means; to change the game.
Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881, one year after young Max Wertheimer landed in the arms of the family doctor in Prague. There is no evidence to suggest they knew each other which is a bit shocking given their parallel works. Therefore, it must be concluded that their work reflects a paradigm shift. The former is the most recognized name in art, creator of cubism (with Georges Braque) while the latter would require a quick google search to perhaps jog the memory recollecting the name mentioned in a psych class long ago; (This could certainly be the result of society’s value on action over thought, pictures over words, visual beauty over ideas and self-reflection). Regardless, Max Wertheimer’s Gestalt theory (co-founded with Kurt Koffka and Wolfgang Kohler) much like Picasso’s paintings and sculpture is classic, eternal. Just like breaking out the Super Nintendo and fighting Soda Popinski on Mike Tyson’s Punchout, they are gifts that keep on giving (even if you have to blow the dust out of the plastic game cartridge every five minutes).
Cubism and Gestalt Theory on the surface don’t appear related. How exactly could a painting technique be connected to psychological analysis? And how does this all relate to hoops? I'm getting there. Take a closer look, and you will see why Wertheimer was just as much of a visionary as Picasso. This is true despite the fact that his work will never be able to serve that secondary function of decorating the space above Omar Vizquel's (or replace with your favorite art enthusiast multi-millionaire athlete here) fireplace mantel. 1906 marked the start of the “pre-Cubist” period in which Picasso and Braque began to employ a graphic rhythm throughout their works converting represented forms into geometrical shapes. By 1909, Picasso’s contemporary Henri Matisse coined the term “Cubism” as Picasso’s work had further evolved. The idea behind this new reconstruction was that different overlapping and intersected points of view could be integrated into one image of a particular object. Thus rendering the 3-D perspective of realism 2-D; the opposite of how one’s HD plasma TV brings to life the instant replay of Terrell Owens’ amazing one-handed snag on Sunday Night Football. Picasso described this reorganized form a ‘sum of destructions’; a reconstruction of separate temporal moments depicted at once. Picasso changed the game.
Another game-changer, Wertheimer proposed in Gestalt Theory that “human beings are open systems in active interaction with their environment”. On a play in which all five Boston Celtics on the floor touch the ball, Kevin Garnett’s decision to make the extra pass to an open Ray Allen for a three-pointer from the corner illustrates this directly. Adjustments are made throughout the play. The defender arrives to cover KG a step behind the big man’s pass to the open man. With no one left to guard Allen, results won't vary: swoosh. In this school of thought, the theory is used by psychologists to study the order and structure of psychological events. When applied to sport, the theory supports athletes as human beings, not trained animals. While Pavlov’s dog begins to drool at the sound of the bell, Gandhi continues his fast. Rather than citing personality traits, a will to win, and pure conditioning of athletes to respond a particular way in a particular situation, there is a dynamic relationship between an individual and the environment in which she or he lives.
In the 2008 World Series, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley wowed the crowds with an unconventional play on the field during the infamous part two of the season-ending game five. That split second that Utley burst toward Akinori Iwamora's infield grounder and gloved the ball off the bounce, he decided to make a complex double move: a fake throw to first followed by firing a dart to home sending Jason Bartlett back to the dugout. W was smiling somewhere. 'Trickery, he he he.' It proved to be the difference in the game as the Phillies won 4-3. It also proves that there is a complexity to sports and those who play them which consequently is often ignored. Gestalt is used as a synonym for ‘the whole’. Much like Picasso used Cubism to express multiple points of view, breaking constraints of time and space in expression, Wertheimer’s Gestalt Theory also shed hyper-simplification, variable replacement research, and the mainstream approach to explaining human behavior.
The connection extends further. A Viennese-born American psychologist Fritz Heider published a memoir on “Gestalt Theory: Early History and Reminiscences” mentioning Max Wertheimer’s research of perceptual grouping tendencies and Picasso’s employment of comparable techniques in his cubist art. Heider proposed that it was likely that both Wertheimer and Picasso realized that the perceptual realms they explored were actively being used to create camouflage by the military as World War I began. So, there was a pragmatic use for the philosophical movement. At first glance, it's hard to imagine that the military was studying Picasso for tips on how to beat the Germans, but the reality is that many artists were either drafted or enlisted.
For more than a century, camouflage has helped to conceal soldiers, munitions, tanks, and warships from enemy combatants through a pictorial technique similar to Picasso’s cubist paintings. The color scheme, use of shading, and shape painting by civilian artists who fought in World War I were inspired by cubism and likewise the ideas of Gestalt Theory. To hide, one’s exterior must blend with one’s environment. From multiple points of view, one must disappear into the background. Camouflage (a term first officially used by the French in a military training manual in 1915) was a creation of the military-industrial complex. Now, the ugly-headed ghoulie offspring of camouflage is inseparable from the media and ownership manipulating every element of the sports-industrial complex to the benefit of those in power (i.e. corruption).
What does corruption in sport look like? The Bowl Championship Series in college football? Don King promoting both the Champion and the Contender in a pay-per-view fight? Performance-enhancing drugs in baseball and track-and-field? Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics? Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy gambling on games? All of these examples possess shades of corruption. But how does the element of camouflage enter into the equation? How do those in power use it and how does it work? The answers lie in the analysis of the organizations administering sport and the media system which covers them.
As sports have become increasingly profitable, the organizations involved in administering them have tightened their grip on every variable associated with their games. It’s a business. A multi-billion dollar business to be more precise. Additionally, the media system has evolved from a focus on investigative reporting to that of entertainment at all costs. Or even better, entertainment at all contracts. For that reason, the NCAA’s investigation into former University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush’s alleged acceptance of financial aid from a sports agent and marketing firm has disappeared. Into thin air. Gone. Why no sanctions for USC in the wake of this scandal? Could it have something to do with the $229 million deal between the PAC-10 conference and Disney? Bush still claims he had no knowledge of any wrongdoing. That’s an explanation that just can’t be swallowed no matter how many times Bush and Jared tell us to “eat fresh” in a Subway commercial. How about China’s human rights violations? Beijing never looked as clean or devoid of protestors as it appeared on NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Not only were protestors rounded up, thrown in jail or shipped off to undisclosed locations, but the Chinese government actually bricked up eyesores in the capital. They jailed the poor, and covered up any unsightly edifice solely for the cameras. It was certainly a complicated environment to conduct coverage of the games. Without the freedom of the press or the people, why was the site chosen in the first place? The answer: 1.3 billion people equals 1.3 billion potential consumers of Kobe Bryant jerseys to the likes of the NBA and its many partners. The International Olympic Committee’s best interest is creating new avenues of income for its marketing and media partners. The almighty dollar strikes again. Could that be the reason Lebron James’ (sponsored by Nike) protest of China’s role in the Darfur conflict has wavered? Absolutely.
It’s just another example of the camouflage and how it works. Every time a whistle-blower steps out, an athlete supports an unpopular religion or a political candidate, a personality goes against the grain of popular opinion and the mainstream; the protective sponsored exterior is stripped away, and a real, fallible human is exposed. And the camouflage provided by the sports-industrial complex is not up to the caliber of the Predator’s (despite the resemblance, this is not a Marion Barber reference) which caused Arnold Schwarzenegger so much trouble. 'Get to the choppah!' At which point, if an athlete moves, she or he will be seen. And only exceptional humans have the ability to navigate the terrain without the issued uniform.
Examining those who’ve attained such heights yields a new perspective on sport. The greatest athletes’ camouflage suits become tattered and wear thin as the person wearing the franchise tag evolves questioning stats quo. These superstars are forced to decide if they will fall in line or march to the beat of their own drum. Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, Pele, Martina Navratilova, Pete Maravich, Tiger Woods, Billy Jean King, Lawrence Taylor, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Steve Nash, Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, and Terrell Owens all possess or possessed power within the boundaries of play, but of those who’ve changed the game on the court, field, or course, what exceptional humans have disregarded the rules and truly tried to change the world around them? By the nature of their extreme talent and record-breaking performances, more pressure from the sports-industrial complex pressed and continues to press down on their shoulders. They are pushed to represent an entire sport as those in power would govern. Commissioners wouldn’t stop at sending extra pairs of camo underwear on athletes’ birthdays; anything to keep the athletes on the same page with the establishment. It’s a deal with the devil.
Some game-changers even get trapped in it later in life. One exceptional human, Jackie Robinson experienced this. In the waning years of his brief life, he regretted his HUAC testimony against Paul Robeson, placing his vote with segregation on the battle field and selling out a would-be ally. Supporting popular opinion against the good of the powerless has consistently yielded diminishing returns. Clinging to that shredded camouflage uniform.
Picasso, Wertheimer, Ali, Navratilova, and Abdul-Jabbar: names you might not expect to see grouped together. They were artists in their trade, interpreting and motivating the world around them. They changed the game.
This series of writings seeks to report on What the World is Watching; evaluating those who toe the line and uphold the status quo and the true game-changers of modern society. It is important to stress that international topics will be commented upon as sports, politics, and culture are all in danger if a homogenous, single nation's viewpoint is selected. The entire world is a moving interactive system. Virtue and perspective is found in the search for alternative viewpoints from distant sources. So, go to a museum, go to a stadium, and check out some art already. Watching the artist’s work is what it’s all about.
Bring the noise with feedback at WhattheWorldisWatching@gmail.com.
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