GYMNASTICSTHE NOBLE SPORT by Charles Ashjian " The author (Charles Ashjian) wishes to ackn owledge the valuable advice and encouragement extended by Mic hael fa cobSOil, current NCAA All -Around Champion from the Pennsylvania State University during th e writing 0/ this, article." Here, at P enn State, is the home of the current NCAA Gymnasti cs Team Champions. Unfortunately, gym nastics, if not oft en neglected, is a poorly und erstood acti vity. On e hesitates in depicti ng gymnastics as only a sport or a sportive art becau se of the skill , taste, and form al bea uty that are its salient and imposing characteristics. Nevertheless, un d e r a stricter anal ysis, this designation is foun d correc t. This evaluation, however, should not ignore the fact that gymnastics is nearer than any other sportive activity, even superior in certain features, to the total develop ment and expression of the creative art s. For this reason, gymnastics is considered- The Noble Sport. Let us be fore specifi c about the reaso ns for such a designation. First, let us consider some of the qualiti es that con tribute to the existence and creation of an art ·object. Then let us move to a consider· ation of the dance, a creative art form , and consid er some the special qualities of thi s art form. Finally, in terms of such a background we shall discuss gymnastics, a sportive art form , and attempt to presen t the main poin ts of parallel, distinction, and accord. Of the many factors that go into the making of a - work of art, none are more important than the taste, temperament and personality of the artist. No work of art can embody more merit than is allowed by the poten tiality and quality of the artist, material, or contential element s that are presen t. It is most naive to assert that the full personality of the arti st does n ot manifest itself in the expressive elements of the aJ:t-o bject. The personal taste or th e di stin ctive' judgment of the artist can never be separated from his personality. Th e aggregate of factors which go into the formation of a personality and the contin gent taste and judgmen t of the artistic personality begin to suggest the compl ex
orIgms of the final product. Again, the personality of the artist is rich in moral character. This is not, however, a stri ct plea for morality in art nor is it an assertion that th e artist is only moral. And it is not even to say that moral character is a prereq uisit e for success ful artistic creation-but, it is to say that no great performance or creation can result from the endeavor of an artist who does not truly and markedly possess moral character. As the whole of the artis t's bein g, not merely some visible object or surface image, is finally placed on display; such considerations may not be ignored. Again, th e artist I S a master ot hiS cr~tt. He is a technician who is familiar With all of the possibilities of hi s medium. Technique is what can be gained by study and observation and instruction. Thou gh an art endeavor can be effective and pleasing without a mastery of techniqu e, it qn never approach that attainable perfection of a particular medium. To employ te chnique alone in the creati on of an art ob· ject is to present an object devoid of feel· in g and which, finally, merely flaunts an annoying sort of perfection. The presence of spontan eity, freedom, and human personality have been minimized. An observer can not detect any sort of texture nor, as a result , can he derive any emoti onal excitation. The final product is merely con· catena tive or the bearer of a machin e-like perfection . If taste has been exercised at all, it is merely in the in terest of avoiding error. Selecti vity has been directed with thi s emphasis. One can travel very dull paths if anxious to avoid the possibility of an enco unter with error. Such excess, from the vantage point of art criticism , is termed "formalism". Much abst·ra ct art possesses this flaw . If the tas te of the artist is to be exercised frui tfu ll y it must h ave access to a rich array of values, images, and ex peri ·
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Drawings by Ivan Foster
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by A. BRUCE FREDERICK'f 2125 ARMOUR DRIVE WILMINGTON 8, DELAWARE ences or standard performances from whi ch to choose or guide progress. The artist must expose himself to all this and in some mann er, al so, be able to duplicate these apprehensions within his own mind so as to imitate, depict, or elaborate upon them within the compass of a particular medium. To sum up , the artist is a man rich in personality and character who exercises his taste or selective faculty upon a rich store of values, images, and experiences and present s, usin g the strength of hi s particular technical ca pacity, a fin al product for mutual experience and evaluation. All of this appli es to the gym nast. Finally, two more points related to art shou ld be mentioned. First, art gains its impact from the capacity to depict and convey emotional experi ence. It can depict ot her sorts of experience, certainly-but, its very strength and existence must be traced back to the vitality and vigor (,f human emotions-ultimately as they have been experienced and present ed by the artis t. Gymnasti cs, which is our main concern, does not full y accomplish this. There is an ex perien ce of emotionality to be derived from gy mnastics but it is not chiefly the result of a previous emot ionality experi enced by the perform er. Rather it is, among other things, a result of the awe, admiration, and excitation to be derived indirectly from the observance of graceful and poised movement within framework of the most precarious sort s of circumstan ces. Secondly, art organizes, creates, or reminds the audi ence of life experiences in th e broader sense. Art in this respect, is limitless in its possibilities gymnastics is ex tremely limit ed. Ce rtainly, gymnastics cannot organize or comprehend these lifebroad boundari es, b'Ymnastics remains explicit and referential within narrow ones. Nevertheless, many of the points where creative art and gymnastic are converge are becoming ev id ent. Let us now sharpen this awareness by discussin g both the dance and gymnastics. Movement is the essence of the dance anJ, so too, is it the essence of gy mnast ic<. Both use th e body as a med ium and both depend upon a dynamic fl ow of energy within the bounds of taste, control, and technique. The body is the primary medium in which such movem ent takes place. Both emphasize or demand the physical fitness and perfection of the performer. Both emphasize the desirability of beauty in the human fi gure and the expressive presentation of this figure. In both these fornl s the body itself becomes an object of art. Further, dance and gymnastics both rely upon design of two types-first, design in space or a concern with a particular image