When Art Got The Gold: The Olympic Games And Art Today
August 15. 2016 | Huffington Post
A mere 1,500 years or so since the Olympics of Ancient Greece, the modern version of the Olympics began; and yet another sixteen years later, it was expanded to include the arts. In any quality school curricula, essential programming doesn’t only include STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) — it includes STEAM. The addition of “A” for “art” seems like a no-brainer.
The athleticism required for the Olympics demands persistence, brute force and strategic methodology, with math as the end-factor: who was statistically the fastest, and who got the best score. These are valuable, measurable elements. Yet there was once a time when sculpting bronze held as much weight in the Olympics as sculpting muscles, and a brushstroke was as important as the backstroke. Skills on the field were revered, as were skills in music, architecture, literature, painting and sculpture — the five artistic categories eligible for the gold, silver and bronze.