John Couse, owner of Lieutenant’s Pump, looks at a “Superfan” art piece on display until April 5.
You’re not likely to see an artist painting a soccer game, or a bunch of sweaty hockey players going to an art opening, but a new collaboration between art collective Artengine and a few Elgin Street pubs is hoping to bridge the gap between arts and sports crowds.
From March 20 to April 5, the “Superfan” exhibition will be on display in three Elgin Street pubs, including Hooley’s, Lieutenant’s Pump and the Manx.
Each pub will feature one or two interactive sports-themed art pieces, which examine aspects of the sports community, such as player statistics and commentary about games.
The idea originally came out of longstanding discussions between Artengine’s artistic director Ryan Stec, and his brother, who is studying management with a focus on sports teams.
Stec said the difference of opinion about how art and sport is integrated into our lives eventually grew into a more intellectual discussion on the relationship between the two communities.
He said each community tends to have different perspectives on each other.
“A lot of artists tend to demonize and generalize the entire sports community. To them it’s a sort of monolithic, horrible place, with money-grubbing, overpaid athletes,” he said with a laugh.
“But I think the opposite exists as well. The athletic community thinks that artists are one big giant blob of self-righteous, self-important, out of shape, cigarette-smoking, turtleneck-wearing (people).”
With “Superfan,” Stec said he wants to bring art into the sports community, hoping it will help break down the stereotypes and get the two groups to talk to one another.
How people in these two groups integrate active living and artistic freedom in their own lives is one way the exhibition might succeed in bridging the gap. They might be able to learn from one another, said Stec.
Local Ottawa artist Linda Norstrom is one of the five artists being showcased.
She said part of what appealed to her in the project was that her own life is often a mixture of art and sport.
“I’m a mom of two sporty kids, constantly running around, so you’ll often find me at a soccer field or at a hockey rink,” Norstrom said.
In her piece, called “fanatic!,” Norstrom took 2006 FIFA World Cup statistics, and assigned colours to the numbers. She then manipulated the numbers with numerology, a process similar to astrology, and created graphs based on the results.
Norstrom said the piece is about the sports fan’s dedication, and sometimes obsessive detailing of player statistics.
Other art pieces made for “Superfan” include an audio-visual bike race, a never-ending audio sound piece of a 100 m dash, and coasters that will be distributed at all three participating pubs.
When deciding which pubs would host the exhibition, Marlène Barré, Artengine’s operations director, said the Centretown area was always the first choice.
“We definitely knew that we wanted to keep it on Elgin Street and from there we scouted out which ones had particular features that might lend themselves well to an exhibition,” she said.
The chosen pubs have nooks and crannies that lend themselves well to installing art pieces that integrate well into the environment without overwhelming it, she explained.
Lieutenant’s Pump will be hosting two art pieces for “Superfan.” Owner John Couse said he isn’t sure how the art will go over with his customers, but added that he is willing to give it a try.
Last summer he tried running art videos in the pub, but the idea was not popular.
“People like to see creativity but I’m not sure what will work in our setting,” he said.
“It’s different if you go to a gallery because you have the expectation of viewing some art and you’re receptive to it, but if you don’t expect it in the bar, you really aren’t primed to appreciate it.”
Barré is optimistic that the project will find an audience.
“I think it’s going to be an opportunity for these two groups to have conversations, and really tackle the similarities between the two passions,” she said.
In addition to the artwork, there will also be a special screening of hockey documentaries at Hooley’s on April 2.