Art competitions at the Olympics
Art competitions at the Olympic Games were held from 1912 to 1948. The idea for this goes back to Pierre de Coubertin , the founder of the modern Olympic movement. Medals were awarded for works related to sport in the five areas of architecture , literature , music , painting and sculpture . The art competitions were finally removed from the program of the Olympic Games in 1954 . In 1956, cultural events took the place of art competitions. While all athletes had to follow the strict rules of amateur status , artists were eligible to participate even if they made a living from the art.
history
Pierre de Coubertin saw his ideals with the establishment of the International Olympic Committee (1894) and the staging of the First Modern Olympic Games in Athens (1896) - the promotion of mental and physical health and the staging of sporting competitions instead of waging wars - Fulfills. Another of his wishes was to combine art and sport, which is why he proposed the implementation of equal art competitions at the Olympic Games.
In May 1906, de Coubertin organized a conference in Paris to which IOC members and representatives of artists' organizations were invited. The conference ended with an assignment to the IOC to hold art competitions in the five fields of architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. The submitted works of art had to be inspired by sport.
Preparations began for the implementation of such competitions at the 1908 Olympic Games , for which the city of Rome was intended as the venue. However, due to financial difficulties, the Italian organizers were unable to prepare the games properly, so that the IOC chose London as the venue in 1907 . The British organizers were basically ready to include the art competitions in the program, but ultimately they had to be canceled due to insufficient preparation time. It was believed that the changed circumstances meant that the artists did not have enough time to create and submit their works.
Pierre de Coubertin was not discouraged by this setback, but did everything in his power to include the art competitions in the program of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm . Although the Swedish organizers were initially hostile to this idea, they eventually gave in. However, the number of works received was rather disappointing, as only 35 artists had participated. However, medals were awarded in all categories.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp , the art competitions were again on the program, but were hardly noticed by the public and had the character of a side event. However, this changed four years later in Paris . For the first time, artistic circles took the art competitions seriously, as no fewer than 193 works were submitted for assessment. The participation of three artists from the Soviet Union was also remarkable , because the country did not take part in sports competitions until 1952 because it regarded the Olympic Games as a " bourgeois event".
The importance of the art competitions increased again significantly at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam . In the Stedelijk Museum , the literature, music and architecture contributions were issued more than 1,100 works, not even counting. Four of the five categories were divided into further sub-categories. The artists were allowed to sell all of their artwork at the end of the exhibition. This was rather controversial when you consider that the IOC otherwise strictly adhered to the amateur statute.
Because of the global economic crisis and the limited accessibility of Los Angeles at the time, there were significantly fewer participants in the sporting competitions of the Summer Olympics in 1932 than in 1928. The art competitions, however, were not affected, the number of works received remained stable. A total of 384,000 people visited the exhibition in the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art. The art competitions at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and the 1948 Summer Olympics in London were equally popular with the public, even if the number of participants fell noticeably.
At the IOC Congress in Rome in 1949, a report was published which showed that practically all participants in art competitions made a living from their artistic work. As this was contrary to the amateur statute, the competitions should be abolished and replaced by an exhibition without awards or medals. The report sparked heated debate within the IOC. At the 1951 Congress, the IOC decided to reintroduce it at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . But the Finnish organizers claimed that there was a lack of time for the preparations and so there were no art competitions or pure art exhibitions.
At the 1954 IOC Congress, the members decided to finally replace the art competitions with exhibitions. Later there were numerous attempts to come back to this decision, but without any consequences. However, an amendment to the Olympic Charter required the organizers of future Games to hold cultural events in order to “promote harmonious relationships, mutual understanding and friendship between the participants and visitors to the Olympic Games”.
Competitions
Between 1912 and 1948 the detailed rules for art competitions changed, but the main rules always remained the same. All work submitted had to be sport-inspired and originals (i.e., they could not have been published before the Olympics). As in the sporting competitions, the artists were presented with gold, silver and bronze medals. However, not all medals could be awarded in all competitions. On a few occasions, no medals were presented at all due to a lack of participants. Artists were allowed to submit multiple works of art, although the number was sometimes limited. This made it theoretically possible for an artist to win several medals in the same competition.
Art competitions were held in the fields of architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. The suggestion was made several times that dance , film , photography or theater should also be considered, but the IOC did not include any of these artistic forms of expression in its program.
architecture
There were two categories in the field of architecture. In the “general architecture” category, competitions took place from 1912 to 1948, and the “urban planning” category was added in 1928. The dividing line was not always clearly defined and some designs received awards in both categories. In contrast to the other competitions, architectural contributions were allowed to be "published" (or built) before the Olympic Games. A well-known example of this is Jan Wils , who received a gold medal for the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in 1928 .
literature
The number of categories in the field of literature changed over time. Until 1924 and 1932 there was only one category of literature. In 1928 and 1948 there was a division into dramatic , epic and lyrical literature. In 1936 competitions were held in the epic and lyric categories, but not in the drama. Submitted works could not be longer than 20,000 words. They could be written in any language, provided a translation into French and / or English was available. Summaries in these languages were sufficient for some of the events.
music
Up to and including 1932 there was a single competition in the field of music. In 1936 it was divided into the categories orchestra , instrumental music , solo singing and choral singing . In 1948 these categories were changed to choir / orchestra, instrumental / chamber music and singing. The jury often found it difficult to evaluate the pieces submitted on sheet music because the pieces were not performed. For this reason, not all possible medals were awarded in some decisions. The jury even refrained from awarding medals twice, in 1924 in the general music category and in 1936 in the instrumental music category. Only in 1936 were the pieces of music performed publicly, even if only the victorious ones.
painting
The general painting category was divided into three sub-categories of drawings , graphic design and paintings in 1928 . The program changed at each subsequent event. In 1932 the categories were: paintings, printed matter , watercolors and drawings. Four years later, the printed products were no longer in the program and were replaced by graphic design and advertising graphics. The three categories in the last art competitions in 1948 were applied arts, engraving / etching, and oil painting / watercolors.
sculpture
In 1928 the sculpture competition was also divided into the categories of statue and relief / medal . The latter was further divided into relief and medal in 1936.
Attendees
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Although several Olympic arts medalists have gained some prominence in their respective home countries, few have become known worldwide. At the 1924 Summer Games, for example, the jury members (including the writer Selma Lagerlöf and the composer Igor Fyodorowitsch Stravinsky ) were far better known than the contestants.
Taking into account the number of medals won, the Luxembourg painter Jean Jacoby is the most successful Olympic artist. In 1924 he won the gold medal for the painting Étude de Sport , as well as for the rugby drawing in 1928. The Swiss artist Alex Diggelmann won three medals; In 1936 a gold medal for the Arosa I Placard and in 1948 a silver and a bronze medal in the “Applied Art” category for an advertising poster each. The Danish writer Josef Petersen won a silver medal at three events (1924, 1932 and 1948).
Only two people have won a medal in both a sporting and an artistic competition. The American Walter Winans , who lives in England , won gold in 1908 as a marksman in the "running stag (double shot)" discipline. In 1912 he won both a silver medal in the discipline "Running Deer (Team)" and a gold medal for his sculpture "An American Trotter". Alfréd Hajós from Hungary was a two-time Olympic swimming champion in 1896 and 28 years later won a silver medal for his design for the swimming stadium in Budapest .
Two presidents of the International Olympic Committee also participated in Olympic arts competitions. In 1912, Pierre de Coubertin submitted the “Ode to Sport” under the pseudonym “Georges Hohrod and Martin Eschbach” and was thus Olympic champion in the literary category. Avery Brundage , who took part in the decathlon in 1912 , submitted literary works in 1932 and 1936.
John Copley of Great Britain was 73 years old when he finished second in the "Engraving and Engraving" category in 1948; making him the oldest Olympic medalist of all time. The oldest medalist in a sports competition is Swedish marksman Oscar Swahn , who won his last medal at the age of 72.
Medalist
See also
Documentaries
- Fire and flame for art - the history of the Olympic art competitions from 1912 to 1948. 52 min. Script and direction: Alexa Oona Schulz. In cooperation with arte and co-production with the SWR . Germany 2012 (DVD publication: Absolut Medien, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-8488-1999-7 ).
literature
- Bernhard Kramer: The Olympic art competitions from 1912 to 1948. Results of a search for clues. Gallas, Weimar 2004, ISBN 978-3-936082-37-1 .
- Uwe Mosebach: Sports history. From the beginnings to modern times. Meyer & Meyer Verlag, Aachen 2017, ISBN 978-3-8403-7535-4 , pp. 415-419.
- Michael Rauschert: Olympic medals for the musical arts. Part 1: History and Development of the Olympic Art Competitions. In: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde (Ed.) Orders and decorations. The magazine for friends of phaleristics. Issue 112, Volume 19, Gäufelden 201, ISSN 1438-3772 .
- Richard Stanton: The forgotten Olympic art competitions - The story of the Olympic art competitions of the 20th century. Trafford Publishing, Victoria 2000, ISBN 1-55212-606-4 (English).
Web links
- Peter Maxwill: Olympic Art Competitions - Put your brushes on, get set, go! . In: Spiegel.de , July 24, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fire and Flame for Art - The History of the Olympic Art Competitions from 1912 to 1948. In: Filmtank.de. Retrieved March 29, 2020 .
- ↑ Fire and Flame for Art - The History of the Olympic Art Competitions from 1912 to 1948. In: absolutMedien.de. Retrieved March 29, 2020 .
