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Art of the Olympians is a non-profit organization of Olympian artists that "promote[s] the Olympic Ideals through programs of art, education, and cultural outreach".[1] It puts on traveling exhibitions, organizes talks at schools,[2][3] and previously operated a museum.

History

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Art of the Olympians was founded in 2006 by Olympic gold medalist discus thrower and artist Al Oerter, who died in 2007.[4][5] In 2006, the organization put on a touring exhibition of art by Olympians.[6] Art of the Olympians put on an exhibition at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.[7] AOTO also held a 2008 exhibition at the Rauschenberg Gallery, Edison College in Fort Myers, FL.[8]

In January 2010, the organization opened the Art of the Olympians Museum and the Al Oerter Center for Excellence in downtown Fort Myers, Florida.[9][10][11][12][13]

In February 2010 Art of the Olympians held an exhibition at the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. In 2011, graphic artist and former long jumper Bob Beamon became the CEO of the Art of the Olympians Museum and Gallery.[14][15]

During the 2012 London summer Olympics AOTO held two international exhibitions in the United Kingdom. The first was held at the University College of London and the second was held in Torbay on the south coast of England.[16] [17][4][18]

On July 16, 2013 CEO Bob Beamon released an open letter directed to the museum's board announcing his resignation. On July 17th, after 3 and a half years, the Art of the Olympians museum and the Al Oerter Center for Excellence closed its doors.[19][20] On the AOTO website they posted an announcement: "Its time to reorganize and restructure the foundation. A new direction focused on National and International Exhibitions programs will further the vision of the founder." Cathy Oerter, Al Oerter's widow, is currently the CEO of Art of the Olympians.[21]

Board of Trustees

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HSH Prince Albert ll of Monaco

Board of Directors

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Cathy Oerter

Markus Sherry D.M.D

Emanuela Pierantozzi

Anita DeFrantz

Kevin Murphy

Jimmy Mellado

Edward Stransenback

Clarissa Bradstock

References

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  1. ^ http://artoftheolympians.org/about-aoto.html
  2. ^ "Art of the Olympians: Former Olympic athletes speak to children at Seacrest". NPDN. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  3. ^ "'Art of the Olympians' brings athlete/artist to Mariner High - pineisland-eagle.com, news, sports, Florida info, Pine Island Eagle". www.pineisland-eagle.com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  4. ^ a b "Olympic art exhibit comes out from the shadows". USATODAY.COM. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  5. ^ Pucin, Diane (2007-10-02). "Al Oerter, 71; discus thrower won gold medals in four consecutive Games". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  6. ^ Olympic Greats Exhibit Their Art
  7. ^ "Beijing 2008".
  8. ^ "2008 Exhibition Archives | Bob Rauschenberg Gallery". Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  9. ^ "Ft.Myers magazine - Art of the Olympians Museum". www.ftmyersmagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  10. ^ "Museum carries a torch for Olympians' art  : Travel". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  11. ^ "Hertfordshire Mercury Newspaper".
  12. ^ "masterstrack.com  » Al Oerter's art museum opens, and Olympians give their support". masterstrack.com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  13. ^ "Art of the Olympians receives support from D.C. Delegation | Florida Weekly". charlotte.floridaweekly.com. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  14. ^ "leevcb.com" (PDF). August 23, 2011.
  15. ^ "Bob Beamon: The Beamon dream". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  16. ^ Wall Street Journal
  17. ^ USA Gymnastics
  18. ^ "Great Britain 28 July: London | World Harmony Run". www.worldharmonyrun.org. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  19. ^ "The Art of the Olympians Museum closed". NBC-2.com. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  20. ^ http://archive.news-press.com/article/20140223/NEWS0110/302230034/Former-Art-Olympians-building-won-t-anything-anytime-soon
  21. ^ http://www.artoftheolympians.org/ambassadors.html
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  • 30-minute documentary about Art of the Olympians
 
Struggle for PerfectionA symbolic visual artistic representation of the Olympics and the Olympic movement.

The "Olympic Picasso" is a nickname given by the media to two time Olympic javelin thrower Roald Bradstock who competed for Great Britain in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics for Great Britain.  In addition to being an Olympic athlete Bradstock is also an Olympic artist. In 2000 he won the gold medal in painting in the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sport Art competition held by the United States Sports Academy(USSA) and American Sport Art Museum and Archives (ASAMA).  His winning painting titled "Struggle for Perfection" went on to be exhibited at the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland as part of the cultural events and activities leading up to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

The phrase the "Olympic Picasso" was first seen in print in an October issue of a British athletics magazine called Athletics Weekly (AW).[1]  The article, about an ambitious Olympic Art proposal Bradstock was pitching to the 2012 London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), referenced renowned BBC sport commentator Paul Dickenson's nickname for Roald Bradstock.

Section

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Roald Bradstock wearing one of his signature hand painted outfits.

In 2008 Roald Bradstock competed in his 7th Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.  He created a media frenzy when he stepped on to the javelin runway to take his first throw in the qualifying rounds of the 2008 US Olympic Trials on July 4th. He took a total of three throws wearing different hand painted outfits with matching hand painted "optical" javelins each time.  His first outfit was a black and white stripped zebra looking costume.  His second was an Olympic themed kit with the all five colors of the Olympic rings painted on it and his final "number" was a red, white and blue outfit that he said later was to celebrate July 4th, America's independence day. [2]

Bradstock's antics on the field got national and international coverage. [3][4][5][6][7]  In a news conference immediately after the event where he placed 16th, he was besieged by reporters.  Being the oldest person at the Olympic Trials at the age of 46 was of little interest, but what was of interest was his "eccentric" media stunt, his hand painted outfits, his bizarre YouTube videos documenting a long list of World Records for throwing strange objects from dead fish to iphones, to the BBC's nickname for him.

Over the next four years leading up to Bradstock's historic 8th Olympics Trials, this time for the UK, Bradstock received a lot of press coverage on the radio, TV, newspapers and magazines around the world. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

At the 2012 British Olympic Trials he once again changed outfits.  This time wearing a variety of hats, sleeves, tights, sock and shoes. He came second with a World Age Record for a 50 year old with a throw of 72.78m and became the oldest person to win a medal in 86 years. [20][21][22]   

Since his final athletic competition in 2012 Bradstock, is now perusing his art career full time. [23][24][25][26][27] 

Bradstock is also a founding member of the Art of the Olympians organization that was founded by Olympic Icon and four-time consecutive Olympic discus champion, Al Oerter. 

References

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  1. ^ "Roald Bradstock.com" (PDF).
  2. ^ "2008 US Track & Field Olympic Trials".
  3. ^ "Javelin thrower brings a festive feel to the day". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  4. ^ "Roald Bradstock - The Olympic Picasso". roaldbradstock.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  5. ^ "Bradstock's ambitious art project for 2012". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  6. ^ Longman, Jeré. "U.S. Track Trials: 46-Year-Old Thrower Lifts Javelin to a Work of Art". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  7. ^ Villarreal, Ignacio. "Roald Bradstock, the "Olympic Picasso" has Ambitious Art Project for London 2012". artdaily.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  8. ^ "Ex-Olympian smashes fish throwing record". Enfield Independent. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  9. ^ Hazel, Bill. "Battle of the Generations: Roald Bradstock vs Matti Mortimore - Video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  10. ^ "Roald Bradstock: Art and the Olympics". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  11. ^ "'Olympic Picasso' will paint the town red if he reaches Games at 50". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  12. ^ "Olympian and Painter Teaches Sport Art to Youth for 2012 London Games". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  13. ^ "Third time lucky in 2012?". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  14. ^ "Roald Bradstock: Still throwing caution to wind after half a century". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  15. ^ "Keighley pupils link up with 'Olympic Picasso'". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  16. ^ "BBC Wales - Colin Jackson's Raise Your Game - 2012 - Roald Bradstock". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  17. ^ "The American Sport Art Museum & Archives – Daphne, AL". asama.org. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  18. ^ "Video: See the world record for throwing a vinyl record - The Strut". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  19. ^ "Roald Bradstock: Javelin World Record Holder Says Art Gave Him Success | The Sport Digest". thesportdigest.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  20. ^ "Roald Bradstock Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  21. ^ "Roald Bradstock's javelin throw and BBC interview at the 2012 UK Olympic Trials".
  22. ^ "Fifty-year-old Roald Bradstock wins javelin silver at Aviva Trials". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  23. ^ "Roald Bradstock". HK Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  24. ^ "Picasso de Sports". HK Magazine. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  25. ^ "Meet Olympic Picasso - Roald Bradstock". Brian Yap. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  26. ^ "South China Morning Post - Roald Bradstock". Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  27. ^ "masterstrack.com  » Masters javelin great Bradstock lends a hand to USATF Foundation". masterstrack.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
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