Game Time: The Sports Photography of Walter Iooss

From baselines and sidelines, courtsides and ringsides, Walter Iooss (b. 1943) has captured the angles and action of sports for more than fifty years. During that time he has documented some of the biggest sporting events and most accomplished athletes of all time, shaping our vision what sports looks like and feels like. Brimming with speed and power, poise and balance, outstretched limbs and dialed-in game faces, his photographs testify to the physical and expressive capabilities of the athletic body and photography’s unique role in illuminating the drama and poetry of sports. Looking at Iooss’ work, we reflect on great teams and fierce rivalries, childhood dreams and aging heroes, but we are also made to think about how sports and society impact each other. His photographs highlight this relationship in the myriad forms it has taken over the last half century, touching on issues of race, gender and sexuality, and celebrity in American culture. Game Time focuses on the stories and contexts, the debates and values at the heart of Iooss’ photographs, enriching our understanding of what the games we love to watch and play mean to us.