David Levinthal: Baseball July 31, 2008

For more than 30 years, New York City artist David Levinthal has arranged toy figures that mimic representations of contemporary myths and American icons. He generates large-scale photographs with a 20x24 Polaroid Land Camera, giving effigies a seductive grandeur, while trying to evoke the genuine emotions that anyone can attach to an entirely artificial world. The Baseball series is based on the icons of baseball history, players such as Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays as they have been portrayed and forever etched in our collective memories. He uses soft focus to blur the distinction between still life and action shot, reiterating the essence of the national pastime.