The Opposite of Tomato: February 2015

Monday, February 23, 2015

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #1 (Argentina)

Extracting some more mileage from the freshly-completed World Cup ’74 portrait project, today we take the drawings from the context of their randomly-chosen linear progress &, referring to the original source material from which they were processed, (re)present the first of the collected squads, in a manner that more closely replicates the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album rather than its Panini ’München 74’ counterpart, arranging each of the 16 portraits in a 4 x 4 grid format upon a single ‘page’ with a background colour (that, in our case, will reference each nation’s main playing colours, unlike the standard applied by the FKS publication) & beginning alphabetically with Argentina.

Arranged & seen thus, all the little individual deviations from the standard ‘template’ & intended regularity of technique become apparent, evidence of a manual rather than mechanical process, ‘re-mediation’ & de-photography’ in practice.

Friday, February 20, 2015

World Cup '74 Portrait #256 (Agustin Balbuena: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Number 256, & the last of the portraits in the World Cup ’74 drawing project, which has taken just 3 weeks shy of a year to complete, the final randomly-chosen subject, the last one out of the hat, being another of the great majority of those represented to be unheard of/unremembered from my football novice’s experience of the televised coverage of the tournament.

For the record, a little light research has unearthed the facts that Agustin Balbuena, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album (which of course provides the original source object/image from which the drawing is processed), was selected as a member of the official Argentina squad for the tournament & went to play in four matches for his country over its course, the opening 2 – 3 defeat to Poland, as a 52^nd-minute substitute in the victory over Haiti that secured qualification for the Second Phase & then in the first two matches there, the defeats to Holland &, confirming the Argentinians’ elimination, Brazil.

It’s a curious & interesting coincidence that the last subject in the Project should be a representative of Argentina, when that very country would be hosting the following football World Cup, in 1978, one in which I took a great deal more informed interest & that I remember in much more vivid detail, the players, matches, incidents, etc, & on the subject of which I happen to have acquired & possess a pair of sticker albums, published by FKS & Panini again. Surely not another Project beckoning…? Perhaps - but perhaps not straight away…