Baseball

America is a nation that has an unquenchable thirst for iconic representations and recognizable heroes, many of whom are born in the arenas, stadiums, and parks where our professional sports are played. These celebrities of our collective imagination are on full display in David Levinthal’s Baseball. For more than three decades, Levinthal has studied American culture and society as reflected through the toys we buy. With Baseball, Levinthal used hand-painted figurines, photographed with the oversize 20x24 Polaroid camera, to re-create the greatest moments in baseball’s history. In so doing, Levinthal examines and adds to the extensive mythology of America’s pastime.

“Quite possibly the most accessible of all his series, Levinthal’s Baseball is remarkable for its straightforward celebration of America’s most beloved sport. With both antique and recently manufactured figurines, the artist has recreated some of the legendary moments that color baseball’s storied history—for example, Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956, Carlton Fisk waving fair his 12th innning home run to give Boston game six of the 1975 World Series, and Mark McGwire’s record-setting 70th home run in 1998. The breadth of stars portrayed includes past and present players such as Babe Ruth, Derek Jeter, Satchel Paige, Ozzie Smith, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Roger Clemens, Jackie Robinson, Pedro Martinez, and Joe DiMaggio among many others.” —Jonathan Mahler

David Levinthal, born in San Francisco in 1949, has been working with toy figures and tableaux as the subject matter for his artwork since 1972. In January of 1997, the International Center of Photography presented a survey of his work from 1975 to 1996. He has received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and was named a 1995 Guggenheim Fellow. His work is included in numerous museum collections including the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, and the Menil Collection. Levinthal’s previous monographs include I.E.D.: War in Afghanistan and Iraq (powerHouse, 2009), and Hitler Moves East (Laurence Miller Gallery, 1989), among others.

Jonathan Mahler, is the author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning (Picador, 2006), and The Challenge (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008) among many other works.