Capitalist prizefighters striking the plasticity of art
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7176208 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amanda Boetzkes (0009-0009-2367-3658, University of Guelph, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 3-5 |
| Pages | 26-42 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interdisciplinary Science Reviews (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-0188 • E-ISSN: 1743-2790 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1177/03080188251389041 |
| OpenAlex | W4415928011 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article considers the dialectics of plasticity at the intersection of art, boxing, and political ecology. It focuses on the visuality of Black male boxers in Jean-Michel Basquiat oeuvre. I explore how Basquiat viewed the struggle of artistic expression (art’s plasticity) as akin to prizefighting. I draw from the critical aesthetic maneuvers of the French theorist Georges Bataille, and the realist painter Gustave Courbet in order to show how art’s plasticity rivals the political ecology of global capitalism, by tracing a common root between economy and ancient martial arts. I consider the recent boxing match between heavyweight champion Oleksander Usyk and former champion, Tyson Fury as a capitalist spectacle of sacrifice and consumption that serves as a form of ‘sportwashing’. The article culminates with an exegesis on prizefighting in relation to the concept of extinction, one of the marker horizons of the global oil economy. While the connection between prizefighting, extinction and war may not seem obvious, I reference the financial alliances animating the global media apparatus that underpins the visibility of today’s martial arts. The article is organized in 12 rounds, with each round encompassing a particular move or strategy of striking (with art
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |