Why the Olympics Is About Sports and Art

For everyone who loves their art and their sports, the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, and the accompanying London 2012 Cultural Olympiad seem a match made in heaven. Alas, for Jonathan Jones of The Guardian, it’s a match made in hell. In a blog post titled, “The Olympics is about sport not art, so culture needs to drop out of the race,” Jones asks, “Why? What's all it for? And how does it connect in any interesting way with the Olympics, or use that sporting even to further art?” Believing that “When the best the Cultural Olympiad has to offer is bouncy castles and BMWs, you know it's time for art to take a back seat,” Jones dismisses the entire enterprise. But, at least from my seat across the Atlantic, I think there’s some value in the marriage of sports and the arts and that Jones isn’t playing fair in his judgment of his home country’s attempt to play host to the world. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Why the Olympics Is About Sports and Art."