GENERIC ART SOLUTIONS

Generic Art Solutions is a collaborative effort between New Orleans based artists Matt Vis and Tony Campbell. Working across many media, the duo re-imagines Classical, Baroque, and Romantic iconography as modern scenes, illuminating the thread that connects past histories to contemporary events. Rooted in the performative, their work tends to examine themes of human drama and the (dys)functions of contemporary society.

ABOUT THE WORK:

In this series of photographs, soccer becomes the mode through which Vis and Campbell investigate ideas of drama, particularly that which is often hyperbolically played out in the sport. The artists cite the ways in which soccer players display emotion through their body language on the field. Dressed as players of the Italian national soccer team, the artists rework the religious iconography of Classical altar scenes—for example, that in which the Virgin Mary holds the body of her martyred son. In the hands of the artists, this iconic image is translated into a dramatic scene on a soccer field.