Joe Klamar's Olympic Athlete Photos Could Be Worse
...If I'd taken them -- while drunk and hogtied.
One blogger, Michael Shaw, finds reason to like the sucky way the photos are shot and lit -- because, to him, they send the all-important message that America's not "all that":
Whether the picture subverts the background, the composition, the lighting or the athlete's expression (or some combination), what at least a handful of Klamar's photos "accomplish" is to slight the plasticized image of the Olympic athlete perpetuated throughout the quadrennial media and advertising orgy. More than that though (and imagine you're reading the rest of this sentence to rabid chants of USA!! USA!!), I think this subset of photos also take a silent sledgehammer to the jingoistic adulation of the American team, to the extent these athletes serve as a fantasy extension of the dying dream of American worldwide superiority.
The line for people leaving the country is very short.
MarkD at July 5, 2012 6:03 AM
Isn't the jingoistic adulation of the athletes from your country the entire point of the Olympics?
Elle at July 5, 2012 6:42 AM
"Isn't the jingoistic adulation of the athletes from your country the entire point of the Olympics?"
Well, sure! What else would the ancient Greeks have been thinking of?
Pricklypear at July 5, 2012 7:33 AM
Exactly, Elle! And not for nothing, but America is "all that". And more. Despite the shite.
Flynne at July 5, 2012 7:34 AM
Why is it jingoism for Americans to root for America, but not for Britons to root for Britain, or Japanese for Japan, etc? Why is it only called jingoism when WE do it?
Sigh.
The Original Kit at July 5, 2012 7:47 AM
It's Art, Dammit!
You plebes wouldn't understand!
Unix-Jedi at July 5, 2012 8:07 AM
Some of the pictures aren't awful, some of the pictures are kind of crappy, and Michael Shaw is a twit.
alittlesense at July 5, 2012 8:08 AM
1. Is it jjust me, or are the Olympics just not a big deal anymore? Maybe it was because I was a child, but I used to freaking love the Olympics. I loved how everyone became an expert on diving for one week every four years ("no splash"), I loved how much attention we paid to the medal count, especially during the Cold War ("eat that, East Germany"), I loved watching collegiate basketball players contend with the world's pros, I loved how olympic boxers were awarded a gold medal AND a small championship belt, I loved being outraged at the ensuing controversies. Now . . . . I'm frequently bored by the onslaught of personal interest stories and slick production. Just show the events, damnit!
2. The photog tried something different. Good for him. Sometimes these things work out. Other times, not so much. But outrage? Get a life, people.
snakeman99 at July 5, 2012 9:33 AM
Oi, those suck. As a Photographer who's not working the field anymore, I can tell you this guy is going to have a hard time getting work now...
Transgressive work, artfully done, can be amazing but this stuff just looks like crap. Looks like either he was on drugs, or just didn't care at all, which is professional suicide.
the work sends the message: "hey, I'm an amateur, and I dunno what I am doing."
Seen similar when a rich person went out an bought a kit, and then suddenly the were a portrait artist.
In any case not only is there no excuse, but why would they even let the pics out. The art director too, is consummately stupid to allow such garbage out.
As for Shaw, he doesn't understand the subversive use of the medium either... and being an apologist for garbage to push your own agenda makes you look like a complete idiot.
SwissArmyD at July 5, 2012 10:11 AM
There is an awful lot in these photos of what leftists think is trendy, but everyone else regards as cliche. Such as alternating between totally flat lighting and shadows, shadows everywhere. ("Hey, let's mask out every part of the face except the eyes! No one's ever thought of that before!") And dressing pretty women in baggy oversize sweaters. ("It's supposed to make you focus on her inner beauty". Which of course can't been seen in a photograph.)
Cousin Dave at July 5, 2012 12:27 PM
I pretty much grew out of any sport or sporting event as the end all/be all once the geeks won.
Michael Jordan having 'retired,' with $40 million in endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.
If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.
If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but he'll make $18,550 while he's there.
If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he'll make $618 while boiling it.
He makes $7,415/hour more than minimum wage.
If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX ($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.
If someone were to hand him his salary and endorsement money, they would have to do it at the rate of $2.00 every second.
He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for that round.
He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100- meter dash in the Olympics, and about $15,600 during the Boston Marathon.
This year, he'll make more than twice as much as all U.S. Past presidents for all of their terms combined.
Amazing isn't it?
However...
If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 500 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates hasat this very moment.
Game over. Geeks wins .....
Jim P. at July 5, 2012 8:52 PM
"Is it just me, or are the Olympics just not a big deal anymore?"
No, I agree. I think it was the switch from every four years to every two years (alternating summer and winter).
Elle at July 5, 2012 9:45 PM
Shaw's simply adding layers which aren't there so he can peel them back and say "Look, world, what I have revealed, and marvel at my intellectual acumen!".
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at July 7, 2012 10:27 AM
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