Game Changer, an exhibition curated by Ruth Bruno and Cortney Lane Stell, opened July 17th at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. According to the exhibition statement, Game Changer aims to “examine artists’ relations to the aesthetics, rules, and cultural significance of competitive sports. … While addressing various components of sports, the works in Game Changer illuminate the potential of art to foster many different types of critical contemplation.” The show features twelve artists from around the world, including Devon Dikeou, a sports aficionado whose knowledge and appreciation of athletic competition permeates several works in her oeuvre.

The large open space, high ceilings, and hardwood floors of BMoCA’s main gallery has always reminded me of a gymnasium, making it a fitting arena for a sports-themed exhibition. Artist Ana Soler’s “Starting Point: Causa-Effecto” activates the space and the audience experience at the front entrance of the museum. With multiple tennis rackets suspended to mimic the movement of someone swinging and hitting the ball, which travels throughout the museum in a state of suspended animation, the piece celebrates the kinetic aspect of sports and prompts visitors to get in the game. The tennis balls bounce in front of Denver artist Phil Bender’s “Soccer Jerseys” and reach the next crescendo before disappearing at the entrance of the next room, only to reappear on the second floor in frozen bounce frenzy.

Alejandro Almanza Pereda’s “Veinte y uno exquisito” does very well at affirming my gym comparison. A basketball begs to be dribbled across the pale wood floors and dunked into the basket overhead. However, doing so would cause some bodily injury and probably a lawsuit or two considering the hoop and backboard are made of a vintage mirror and neon lights.

It’s best to save the MJ impression for the court in your driveway.

There are other works like Pereda’s that appear as an invitation for play, only to prove their uselessness when the participant actually tries to accept that invitation. David Andamo’s “Untitled (Ping Pong)” paddles have holes and are made of heavy bronze, and Brett Kashmere’s “Anything But Us Is Who We Are” involves a NBA 2K10 videogame with LeBron James that cannot be played because there is no controller. Actually many of the artworks are comprised of materials that are meant to be touched, worn, or played with. Putting these objects in the context of a museum, where “do not touch” is still the standard, gives the viewer that itch to dig out their own favorite jerseys and enjoy the sports they love. However, Devon Dikeou’s piece reminds viewers of the intangible reasons why our culture is so obsessed with athleticism and competition, which stems from the hearts and souls of the athletes themselves.

Dikeou’s five black and white photographs are part of a larger installation titled “Marilyn Monroe Wanted to be Buried in Pucci,” and were originally exhibited at the Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia in 2009. This work reflects on the relationship between the iconic actress and baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, and how that relationship, along with their fame, endured in life and in death. The photos depict an American flag at half-mast in New York City, and were shot by the artist on March 8, 1999, the day DiMaggio died.

The images, though somber, speak volumes about everything Americans treasured about DiMaggio beyond the playing field. He was one of the most idolized figures in American culture yet retained his sense of modesty, a quality Hemmingway surmised best when he penned, “’I would like to take the great DiMaggio fishing,’ the old man said. ‘They say his father was a fisherman. Maybe he was as poor as we are and would understand.’"

Game Changer

is on view at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art until September 14, 2014.

-Hayley Richardson