'Art of the Olympiad' Show Opens at University of Baltimore School of Law
July 1, 2008
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The latest show on exhibit at the University of Baltimore School of Law Art Gallery includes the official USA Olympic Triathlon Team poster for 2008, as sanctioned by the United States Olympic Committee. The limited-run poster is just one of the sports-inspired pieces by artist Michael E. Jones, who is also a New Hampshire District Court judge, legal studies professor, formally-trained artist, elite athlete, and former member of the adjunct faculty at the School of Law.
Jones spent 10 months researching Chinese art and history before creating the oil painting on canvas from which the poster is printed.
"I wanted to incorporate and honor the Chinese tradition," Jones said. "In Chinese painting, everything has a deeper meaning—the colors, the figures, the poetry all have meanings other than what you see on the surface. For instance, the birds in flight [on the poster] signify good fortune for all the competitors in Beijing."
As a reward for his extensive research on Chinese art traditions, Jones was given a name in Chinese characters by staff at the China Institute of America.
"My Chinese name has no direct English translation," he said. "It is made up of two characters which together mean caring, thoughtful, and observant."
In the early 1980s, Jones taught a number of seminars on sports law at the School of Law, and he has found that his career as an attorney and agent intersects with his artistic ambitions more often than might be expected.
"The USOC had to license all of the parts of the logo to me, including 'USA' and 'Triathlon,'" Jones said. "The fact that the entity of the USOC owns that logo and must give me permission to use it on my own intellectual property is fascinating to me."
Jones was previously commissioned by the USOC to create the official USA Olympic Triathlon Team poster for 2004, which also hangs in the show. Other pieces on exhibit were inspired by current issues in sports, including the doping scandals recently exposed in track and field, cycling and professional baseball, as well as the politics of sport around the world.
"Art of the Olympiad" will continue through Sept. 8 in the first-floor gallery of the School of Law, located at 1415 Maryland Ave. The show is free and open to the public, daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.