World Cup '74 Portrait #208 (Roberto Telch: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project is a graphite re-mediation of an image of Roberto Telch, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative sticker albums (our original source material being provided by the former in this instance), & was chosen as a member of the Argentina squad for the Finals, where, after appearing as a 67^th-minute substitute for his country in their opening match, the 2 – 3 defeat to Poland, he played in all but one of the Argentinians’ five subsequent fixtures, missing only another loss, against Brazil.

Telch was previously featured as the subject of a drawing in an earlier incarnation of the 1974 World Cup project, which can be found here, &, sadly, passed away very recently, in October of this year.

World Cup '74 #14 (Roberto Telch)

graphite & putty eraser/30x20cm

Embodied within the matrix of toned graphite squares, simultaneously obscured by & emerging from such manual pixelation, the portrait subject of the latest drawing to be processed in the hauntological 1974 football World Cup project is Roberto Telch of the Argentina squad, as selected to appear in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ stamp album (which provides the original image/object from which the drawing is sourced) &, subsequently, the tournament itself, where he played in five of his country’s six matches, beginning as a 67th minute substitute for Angel Bargas in the opening fixture against Poland & then going on to miss only the Second Round group game against Brazil, the 1 -2 defeat to whom resulted in Argentina’s effective elimination from the competition.
Telch, in common with the majority of players who featured at the 1974 World Cup, was previously unknown to my hazy memories of the first televised football event in which I took an interest, hence his representation in monochrome.

Soundtrack:

Vic Godard & Subway Sect ‘We Come as Aliens’
Moon Wiring Club ‘Somewhere a Fox is Getting Married’
Radiohead ‘Kid A’
Rickie Lee Jones ‘Traffic From Paradise’
Belle & Sebastian ‘The Life Pursuit’