Picturing the Beautiful Game

The world's most popular sport soccer has long been celebrated as the beautiful game for its artistry and aesthetic appeal. <i>Picturing the Beautiful Game: A History of Soccer in Visual Culture and Art</i> is the first collection to examine the rich visual culture of soccer including the fine arts design and mass media. Covering a range of topics related to the game's imagery this volume investigates the ways soccer has been promoted commemorated and contested in visual terms. Throughout various mediums and formats-including illustrated newspapers modern posters and contemporary artworks-soccer has come to represent issues relating to identity politics and globalization. As the contributors to this collection suggest these representations of the game reflect society and soccer's place in our collective imagination. Perspectives from a range of fields including art history sociology sport history and media studies enrich the volume affording a multifaceted visual history of the beautiful game.