From: fc03@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Frederick W. Chapman)
Newsgroups: rec.skate
Subject: Skating as Art (was: Petrenko as Pro)
Date: 13 Apr 92 17:22:58 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <1992Apr13.112020.17846@cbnewsl.cb.att.com>, htr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (
helena.t.robinson) writes:

>OK, now that I've watched the weekend's coverage...
>
>- Scott Hamilton skated a brilliant, intense artistic program (after stumbling
>  a bit in the technical) which deserved to win.  Petrenko made a big mistake
>  using his Olympic long program for the artistic - he would've blown everyone
>  away had he used his Elvis exhibition program (which he and his coach had
>  considered).  As for the others, Brian Orser had his share of problems (as
>  he's had during most pro events I've seen this year), Robin Cousins seemed
>  lackluster, and Gary Beacom and Robert Wagehoffer seem underrated (only
>  Beacom's artistic and Wagenhoffer's technical programs were shown).

Here is an example of how art strikes different people differently!  I
thought that Scott Hamilton's artistic program was good, but Robin Cousins'
artistic program did a lot more for me.  I find Cousins to be unique for his
grace and polish on ice... the perfectly even rotations of his double jumps,
his skating line, the positions of his spins, the attention to artistic
detail (such as his timing and finger position when he took his hands out of
his pockets in the early part of his program) make his skating a delight to
watch.  Cousin's artistry reminds me of John Curry's (sp?) skating.

Perhaps I did not like Hamilton's program as well because I generally feel
wary of attempts to appeal to my emotions on religious grounds (e.g., Battle
Hymn of the Republic, dedication to the 1961 team).  I feel that calling on
the intense emotions that most religious people already associate with
various religious concepts is "cheating" artistically; i.e., it is like
starting 500m ahead of the starting line in a 1000m race.  (I do like Karen
Kadavy's "Amazing Grace" program, though; she is a fine artistic skater.)


>- Anybody else wonder about Katarina Witt's victory in light of her Diet Coke
>  commercials and the fact that Coke sponsored this event?  Though her
>  technical program was the best I've seen from her in a long time and her
>  artistic was better than in her show, I can't help but think Debi Thomas got
>  robbed.

For those who might have missed it, Katarina Witt spent most of her program
slinking around the ice in a tight bodysuit, gushing oodles of sex appeal the
whole time.  By strange coincidence, most people associate intense emotions
with sex.  (Go figure. :-)  Consequently, I also consider Witt's relying
on sex appeal, posing, tight clothing, and her  s h a p e l y   b o d y
(which I didn't even notice, by the way) -- instead of pure skating -- to be
"cheating" artistically.

Apparently the judges were rewarding raw emotional appeal more than art in the
abstract this time around.

While we're talking about subjective opinions about art, I'll add that Kurt
Browning's long program in World's had much more artistic content than Viktor
Petrenko's (in my opinion); Petrenko's program, though a well-executed
example of the classical style (which I appreciate), seemed sparse in
comparison to the numerous and innovative things that Browning did.  Yet the
judges awarded Petrenko higher artistic marks than Browning.


Fred Chapman
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