The Show Must Go Home: Senior Thesis Exhibition Spring 2020

Sophie Chace

A Dedication to Wisdom & Power
Sophie Chace

A Dedication to Wisdom & Power is a monochromatic photographic series in celebration of the aging athletic body, represented by members of the Newport Sea Base masters rowing team. In the past year spent coaching these athletes, I have been shown unwavering strength, determination, and pride. All qualities exhibited by and applied to athleticism, yet a notion generally reserved in the media for the younger, idealized athlete and body. The aging body, on the other hand, receives limited representation in media aside from standing as a symbol for time, wisdom, or a lifetime shifting into deterioration. This series actively disrupts these conventions by introducing an unfamiliar perception of athleticism and the aging body through the marrying of the physical and internal strengths each respectively connotes. 

In my ten years of involvement in crew, I have come to understand the years of unwavering dedication to achieving technical perfection and developing the mental toughness to exert full effort for the entirety of a race piece, purely fueled by the primal desire for victory. Rowing as a whole represents a union between optimal focus and performance, therefore creating another platform for the informed viewer to recognize the duality offered by the aging athlete’s strengths. Regardless of the context, the series defies the Marxist fetishization contained within athleticism by deconstructing the commodification which stems from the singularity of the subjectively ideal body. The subjects argue against the theory of idolization based upon the perceived labor spent to obtain the commodified thing — in this case, body— by presenting a multifaceted sense of intrinsic value the viewer is not yet familiar or comfortable with. Similar to John Coplans’ use of the aging body as subject, the result is an inherent criticality of the idealized expectations of the body and, therefore, the self. However, where Coplans’ formal decision to omit facial features allows for the representation of a universal aging male body, the eye contact from some of the subjects of A Dedication to Wisdom & Power forms a relationship with the viewer, almost daring the commodification of a new, desingularized ideal. 

The use of photography as the medium speaks to the nature of the mind’s desired ideal, with both fundamentally being simulacra as imitations of perceived reality. The photograph offers the viewer a direct visualization of an aspect of the new open-ended ideal as represented by the aging rower. The photographs of the series, originally intended to be produced through traditional film development, are realized as digital imitations of the former, which incorporates an additional layer of simulacrum in connection with the notion of an idealization being a form of imitated reality. In this connection, the viewer can deduct the falsity in idolizing a singular athletic ideal, as the ideal itself is not true reality. The use of monochrome photographs not only allows more significant focus on the subject of the series but also draws a connection to the traditionally documentary photograph used in the production of news media and propaganda. Inspired in form by Leni Riefenstahl’s representation of the athlete as seen in the Olympia films centered on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the subjects carry the confidence of ancient Greek statues, again a visual representation of the outdated ideal. What this creates is an attempt to connect the human form to godliness, celebrity, and therefore appeal to the human attraction to immortality, much like the aim of Riefenstahl’s propagandist work. 

For the American rowing community the 1936 Olympics marked a revolution in the global competition for the fastest eight-man crew, adding further significance to the inspiration drawn from Riefenstahl’s work. During the Great Depression and at the height of public interest in crew races, the University of Washington sent the undefeated freshmen, sometimes referred to as the “Miracle 9,” to Germany to compete against the fastest crews in the world. The Miracle 9 brought home gold against all odds, becoming national heroes victorious over Germany in their home country and under the watch of Adolf Hitler. While Riefenstahl’s Olympia served as propaganda of Aryan superiority, A Dedication to Wisdom & Power’s emphasis of the older athlete’s strength is an effort to build respect and recognition for older generations. By drawing an association with the 1936 American crew the message of strength can be intensified; the celebrity of the Miracle 9 associates itself with the series’ subjects for being the group affecting change in societal expectations with the use of rowing as the vehicle to the message. 



In its essence, A Dedication to Wisdom & Power acts as propaganda with the intent to reform the generally ageist societal view of older generations by means of the older athlete. Propaganda takes on a pure-hearted agenda in the context of the series and invites a shift to the negative implication of the word. The subjects break down Marx’s idea of capitalist use-value as an argument for singular idolization by presenting themselves as high use-value individuals in the same way of any fetishized ideal. Through the creation of a specifically framed imitation of reality the subjects of the series, in the context of crew, marry the connoted physical qualities of athleticism and the idolized athlete with the internal virtues of wisdom and resilience carried by their age. The series intends to challenge the viewer’s understanding of valuation and the commodity fetishism of an athletic ideal form through the demonstrated confidence, dedication, and power of each of my athletes. 

(For more information about the winning 1936 Olympic crew, a fantastic read is The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The book provides readers two perspectives, one focused on the hardships experienced by the Washington crew and the other on the construction and execution of the ’36 games under Hitler’s control.)

To learn more about Sophie's work visit:
https://www.sophiechace.com

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