Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait
Soccer Meets Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada
To millions of soccer fans in France and beyond Zidane is a superstar, and now he is the subject of an acclaimed piece of cinematic portraiture.
Soccer fans worldwide admire the recently retired Zinédine Zidane as an uncommonly skillful player of North African and French origin, but even those who don't follow soccer closely may remember him from the 2006 World Cup and his involvement in the notorious "head butting" incident.
Zidane's reputation for athleticism and competitive intensity precedes him, but to millions of soccer fans in his homeland of France and beyond he is also a professional celebrity. Now, to art and film viewers he is at the centre of an acclaimed piece of cinema called Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno (with music by Mogwai).
On display until October 14th, 2007 at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the piece is at once an unconventional presentation of a soccer game, a rumination upon the individual behind the image and a compelling example of video art.
Filmed with 17 cameras, the film follows Zidane – and Zidane alone – during the course of an entire 90-minute soccer game between Villareal and Real Madrid.
Initially, the choice to focus on Zidane alone disrupts expectations. The viewer is accustomed to watching a team sport from a comfortable distance, which enables one to understand the relationships between players and the action that occurs in the game.
Zidane's video "portrait" tells the story of the game in an unconventional manner. One realizes that in spite of his star power and skill, Zidane is only one player among many on the pitch. One is accustomed to seeing a player like Zidane at his most photogenic moments when he controls the ball or gets into a scuffle, but in this video "portrait" there is a great deal of waiting.
However, though the viewer does not have access to the game in the conventional sense, the action of the game goes on in the mind and is communicated through the face of the star who is the true subject of the piece.
While the viewer cannot see the ball, Zidane is always watching, waiting and planning. The viewer develops insight into the psychology of the game through observing the concentration and tension on the face of Zidane.
Zidane appears larger than life on the twin screens as he is imagined to be larger than life by fans. The viewer sees him from all angles, and sometimes only fragments of his body – his agile feet, the intensity of his gaze. There are moments of swift action, long stretches of gathering anticipation, and the film is punctuated by hazy dreamlike moments with the distant sports announcer in the background.
Soccer mania has taken hold of sports fans in Canada and the USA in the past few years. This July Canada successfully played host to the FIFA Under 20 World Cup, and Los Angeles welcomed its own soccer royalty to town in the form of Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham and her designer hubby, aging British soccer star David Beckham.
While Beckham appears in many a fashion magazine spread (and in a recent unacclaimed reality TV special with his famous wife), Zidane is a far more compelling and though-provoking portrait of a contemporary soccer icon.
