de-sport: The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Sports through Art

"de-sport: The Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Sports through Art" exhibition has been postponed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, and 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa will open the exhibition on June 27 (Sat). The exhibition closing date will not be extended. Timed-entry tickets will be available from 10:00 June 19.

※The poster's date is old dates.

This exhibition sets out to reexamine the significance of sports from an artistic perspective in anticipation of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games next year. The title, de-sport, is a newly coined term derived from the medieval French word desport, meaning “to enjoy,” and the idea of dismantling and rebuilding sports, expressed by the phrase “deconstructed sport.”* In tracing the etymology of the word “sport,” one finds that it originally meant “an enjoyable diversion from routine labor,” and included artistic pursuits such as music, theatre, painting, and dance. In contrast to contemporary sports – a parade of perfect physiques and skills, and commodification of competition as entertainment – this exhibition returns to the roots of sports. It adopts an artistic viewpoint to reconsider these activities as social constructs that reflect various issues of the day, including play, the body, the state, war, and non-verbal communication. Don’t miss this chance to watch and experience sports, deconstructed, and reconstructed from the artistic perspectives of ten artists from nine countries around the globe.