STANDARDS

Core Art Standards: VA1, VA2, VA8

CCSS: R2, R3, R4

Art in Motion

How do artists show movement and excitement in sports?

How do artists show movement and energy in sports?

December 2025

Written by Salomé Gómez

Think about the many ways an athlete’s body moves when playing sports. They run, jump, dive, and leap—and the best athletes spend years training to perfect those movements. For dedicated athletes, sports are more than a game, they’re an art form.

The artists whose work is featured here focus on showing the beauty of those powerful movements. Using the elements of art and principles of design, they’ve developed creative ways to show what it looks and feels like when athletes are in motion.

Think about how athletes move. They run, jump, dive, and more. The best athletes train for years to perfect these moves. For athletes, sports are more than a game—they’re an art form.

The artists here focus on the beauty of movement in sports. They use the elements of art and the principles of design to do so.

Emphasis on the Action

Ernie Barnes made history as the first American professional athlete to become a famous painter. He studied art in college and played professional football in the early 1960s. Later he found inspiration in his own experiences on the field as he devoted his life to making art that celebrates sports.

In 1984, Barnes was commissioned to create the poster shown above for the Summer Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles, California. To paint the three runners, Barnes uses highlights and shadows to emphasize their musculature. The artist exaggerates the figures’ proportions, elongating their arms and legs in dynamic poses. Their facial expressions show the exhaustion and excitement they feel as they cross the finish line.

Ernie Barnes was the first American professional athlete to become a famous painter. Barnes studied art in college. He played professional football in the early 1960s. Later he began making art about sports. He was inspired by his time on the field.

In 1984, Barnes created the poster above. It was for the Summer Olympic Games, in Los Angeles, California. Barnes paints three runners in a race. He uses highlights and shadows to show the shape of the athletes’ muscles. The artist exaggerates the lengths of the runners’ arms and legs to emphasize their active poses.

Layered Snapshot

Pelle Cass’s artworks begin with a camera, but the Boston-based artist says his works truly come to life during the editing process. To make his 2018 Women’s Water Polo at Harvard, above, Cass digitally combines many photos taken during a water polo match in a single layered image.

At first the scene might seem chaotic, but Cass carefully arranges the figures, creating balance and unity. By showing many figures during different plays in a single frame, he creates a fast-paced snapshot of the entire game at once.

Pelle Cass’s artworks begin with a camera. The 2018 image above is called Women’s Water Polo at Harvard. To make it, Cass took many photos during a water polo match. Then he digitally combined them into a single image.

Cass arranges the figures to create balance. The resulting image shows many different parts of the match at once. Layering them creates an action-packed snapshot of the entire game.

Showing Speed

American photographer Howard Schatz plays with speed in the 2010 artwork above, which shows Argentine boxer Sergio Martinez. Schatz uses a digital process called motion capture. This technique records a person’s movements and turns them into digital data the artist can manipulate later.

Martinez seems to be still in the center of the symmetrical composition as the rope spins around him. Schatz adjusts the motion capture data to draw attention to Martinez’s speed, showing his arms, legs, and shoes seamlessly blurring around the central figure. The artist adds dramatic contrast with light, as the thin rope and Martinez’s shoes seem to shimmer against the black background.

Howard Schatz is an American photographer. He created the 2010 artwork above. It shows Sergio Martinez, a boxer from Argentina. Schatz uses a digital process called motion capture. This technique records a person’s movements. It turns them into digital data.

Schatz’s image of Martinez is symmetrical. The boxer appears still in the center as the rope spins around him. Schatz blurs Martinez’s arms, legs, and shoes to depict the athlete’s speed. The artist also uses light to add dramatic contrast. The thin rope and red shoes shimmer against the black background.

Star Power

Tavares Strachan’s 2019 Althea and Althea, above, honors Althea Gibson, the first Black American to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The Bahamian artist creates a collage using a photo of Gibson playing tennis. He layers the image of Gibson twice, slightly offset, which creates a subtle blurring effect.

Strachan also incorporates symbols throughout the composition. A radiating starburst behind Gibson adds energy to the scene. A pink blimp repeats at multiple sizes across the image. And a sculpture resembling an ancient Greek goddess appears at the upper left and right corners. Notice how these objects quickly move your eye around the artwork.

Where else might you find each of these objects in the world? What do you think Strachan is suggesting about Gibson by including them?

Tavares Strachan is an artist from the Bahamas. His 2019 work Althea and Althea is above. It honors tennis player Althea Gibson. She was the first Black American to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament. Strachan uses a photo of Gibson playing tennis twice, in different positions. This layering creates a blurring effect for viewers.

Strachan uses symbols in the artwork. A starburst adds energy to the scene. A pink blimp repeats. A sculpture appears in the corners. What do these symbols suggest?