Creative vector illustration of tennis racquet and ball in separate layers and groups.
“Art & Sound of Tennis” featured two participants per session standing before a 30′ LED screen with customized racquets equipped with stroboscopic lighting to capture their swings on cue and generate abstract art visualization and soundscape. A custom photobooth superimposed the generated artwork digitally available for sharing digitally.
Art Seitz
Seitz was best-known as an art history professor and later director at the University of Virginia and Rose Art Museum at Brandeis. Throughout his career he became widely respected for his groundbreaking works in abstract expressionism, assemblage art and optical (op) art – but more importantly was also an exceptional teacher, inspiring his students to see art as part of an uninterrupted journey from realism (Edward Hopper) through modern abstractionist works like Mark Tobey and Arshile Gorky–to abstractionism such as Tobey and Gorky–which would eventually reach them all!
Seitz’s teaching had an immense effect on many important young art historians, particularly photographers eager to bring fresh perspectives and dynamism into their field of art history. Many regarded Seitz as “father” of American art history as we know it today.
Seitz’s time at the Museum of Modern Art saw him organize several groundbreaking exhibitions that changed how art was seen and understood – such as The Art of Assemblage (1961) and The Responsive Eye (1965). Additionally, Seitz organized traveling shows featuring Mark Tobey and Hans Hofmann artists, traveling shows on them both, guest curating an entire large show at Sao Paulo Biennial 9 (1967), etc.
Seitz’s career spanned more than four decades. Throughout that time he created connections between artists and audiences that remain strong today, as well as helping elevate the Museum and particularly its department of modern and contemporary art, which he headed from 1965-1970.
This exhibition draws from letters and other archival material to provide new insight into one of the Museum’s leading curators of the 1960s: Bill Seitz. With correspondence surrounding his dissertation topic as well as installation photographs and material related to shows he organized, this show sheds light on Bill Seitz’s prolific yet often-overlooked career.
Oscar Wegner
Oscar Wegner is an American tennis coach and photographer based out of Dallas. His method for teaching relies on the philosophy of “Find, Feel and Finish”, enabling natural movement while using techniques inspired by top players’ strokes. This system emphasizes an open stance with precise tracking and impeccable timing combined with focussed awareness for ball feeling as well as minimal movements; these result in an efficient, straightforward technique which produces consistent results for his students from around the world; including professional champions from Barcelona to Moscow/Belgrade as well as coaches/players from Dallas/Texas among many other major cities as well as Williams sisters’ father/coach coach as well as several top US-based players from this method.
Wegner’s work has been featured in various articles and his book “40 Tennis Tips to Play Like the Pros” was an international best seller. Additionally, he produced 5 DVDs of instructional vignettes available here and is currently working on an updated edition of his book. Since 1994 his website has garnered millions of visits worldwide while his fluency in five languages and background as an announcer with ESPN International allowed him to broadcast both ATP/WTA tournaments as well as Davis Cup matches from April 1994-December 1999.
Below the Line met Wegner during a break on set of her latest film, The Power of the Dog. As an Australian cinematographer, Wegner stands a strong chance at becoming the first woman ever to receive an Academy Award nomination for this drama, which stars Kirsten Dunst, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee as four rancher brothers striving to establish themselves with their cattle in 1925 Montana.
Campion hired Wegner for at least one year of pre-production work on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, during which time she established an effective visual language that has won widespread praise; such recognition includes wins at both BAFTAs and ASC Awards; many have even bet that she will become the first female winner of an Oscar Award for Best Cinematography.
‘Art & Sound of Tennis’
Tennis connects the worlds of sport, travel, fashion and romance. With its timeless style that outlives functional trends in equipment and clothing, tennis remains an aspirational activity that appeals to both athletes and socialites. Furthermore, fans still love listening to radio commentators’ play-by-play commentary!
As art, tennis requires passion and commitment to reach success. Just as people recognize a Picasso painting or Michelangelo sculpture for its unique style, tennis players also develop unique playing styles which are easily identified by fans of their sport.
Anna Brown’s artwork incorporates old aluminum tennis rackets melted down to explore different forms of sound. She attempts to recreate the distinctive sounds associated with Wimbledon using non-tennis related objects such as shaking seeds in a pan for rain or wobbling paper sheets to represent thunder – creating the impression of being at Wimbledon while not physically being present there.
At each US Open, the American Express Fan Experience hosts various events and activities designed to engage fans. In 2013, Your Majesty and Red Paper Heart collaborated with Momentum to produce one of the largest installations within its 30,000 sqft space with their “Art & Sound of Tennis” and “Swing Analysis” experiences.
Card Members and Prospects were invited to stand before a 30-foot LED screen equipped with a customized racquet, while their swings were tracked using motion sensors and translated digitally into tennis-themed abstract generative art visualization. Once their work of art had been generated, they were then invited to pose for photos with it superimposed onto a frame held in their hand; these pictures could then be shared digitally on social media.
Tennis, a Denver-based synth pop duo, describes their music as being inspired by the zeitgeist – which refers to the creative current that drives popular culture trends – evident in its catchy indie-pop tunes and disco aesthetics, which find a home on both Top 40 playlists as well as 303’s “Groovy New Indie” playlist.