Lectures / 11/02/2009 7:30 pm

Fußball trifft Kunst? [Is football about to steamroller art?]

Most football fans simply could not care less about art; they probably think it’s useless and dispensable. Conversely, quite a few art lovers consider soccer highly dispensable as it promotes chauvinism and anti-intellectualism. There are exceptions to these rules but basically the two areas are separated by a skyhigh barricade.
This mutual enmity is put into practice with great zest when it comes to the division of the spoils of state subsidies and the attraction of private sponsorship. The anatagonism is then played out on a grossly unlevel playing field: the bulk of the money is channelled to popular soccer. The football hits art in the face; the ball tears through the canvas of the painting. The fact that record prices are habitually paid in the art market is totally beside the point as regards the basic situation. The sport could easily bring more sporting spirit to this match.

Yet what would be the outcome if an offensive alliance between art and football were to spring up all of a sudden? No calculated catenaccio, but a sidestepping of the most unexpected kind, a novel joint lobbying manoeuvre, which in addition to being an agreeable surprise to potential sponsors would also force the two antagonists to take each other seriously? Inconceivable. Or is it?