The power and beauty of sports teams up with the love of community and family in “Local Motion: The Sports of Fort Tilden, the Rockaways — and Beyond.”
Capturing the essence of sports played in a very special New York City neighborhood by the sea, this art exhibit widens its view to express the universal themes of athletics and to depict the action and excitement of athletes in many different venues.
Rugby, cricket, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, golf, fishing, sailing, soccer, surfing, kite-flying are some of the array of sports that take place every summer at Fort Tilden. This unique urban seaside national park is the backdrop for “Local Motion,” which celebrates the games, teams, individuals and supporters. But the artwork in “Local Motion” goes beyond the playing fields of the Rockaways to athletes like former Miami Dolphins lineman Larry Csonka and to other sporting events in universal settings.
The content of the artwork presented runs the gamut from the raw force and grace of a rugby throw-in to the sleek sinews of Marion Jones; from the intensity of a golfer blasting out of a sand trap in an explosion of color to the freedom of a sailboat on a summer’s day; from the drama of racing horses to the sweet comedy of errors of the littlest of Little Leaguers frantically searching for a ball sitting on the ground just inches away; from the world-famous to those who are champions only to the mothers, fathers and friends who love them; and from realism to abstraction.
“Local Motion” brings visitors the energy, enthusiasm, triumph, frustration, freedom and camaraderie that define sports. Ultimately it distills “sport” into a fine art. For it is the role of art to transcend the physical. “Local Motion” depicts not just the game, but its profound significance to all who love it.
“Local Motion” is presented through Aug. 31 by the Rockaway Artists Alliance, in partnership with the National Park Service/Gateway National Recreation Area in sTudio 7 Gallery, at the Rockaway Center for the Arts, Fort Tilden, GNRA.
A reception will be held Sunday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature live music, entertainment and refreshments. A children’s reception, complete with hot dogs, popcorn and soda, will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Gallery hours for the exhibition are Saturdays noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
Rockaway Artists Alliance thanks Marty Andresen of the Rockaway Little League for his generous support of “Local Motion.”
For more information call 718-474-0861 or go to www.rockawayartistsalliance.com.
