Three Celebrated Ball Players - Choctaw, Sioux and Ojibbeway 1861

Editor: Okay, next up, we have George Catlin's "Three Celebrated Ball Players - Choctaw, Sioux and Ojibbeway" from 1861, looks like a watercolour. I’m immediately struck by the ethereal quality of the light and how simply yet expressively he depicts these figures. What captures your attention in this piece? Curator: The artist clearly wasn’t trying to create a photo-realistic picture, was he? But rather capture the *essence* of these athletes, these *spirits*, through the movement suggested in their bodies, even through the gentle smudge of colour which suggest smoke and sky... what is amazing to me, is that one feels like something special occurred right here, that the artist was trying to relate a lived-experience... What do you sense when looking at the three players themselves? Editor: There's a definite sense of pride, a kind of quiet confidence in their posture, although each one holds the ball stick differently, right? I’m curious about the… equipment. Do we know anything more about that? Curator: We do! Catlin documented these games extensively. The sticks weren't just equipment, you see; they were extensions of the players themselves, almost spiritual objects imbued with personal meaning. Can you see how the texture of the stick in the first player's hand makes them both feel the same, part of a continuous energy flowing between body and tool, both being used in one larger function? What about that gossamer screen the first player has... what do you make of it? Editor: Oh wow, now that you mention it, they are unified in texture! The screen… is that for defence? Curator: Possibly. And the flowing transparency... does it make you feel anything? Editor: It seems like smoke, and perhaps Catlin has captured not just the physical presence of the players, but a deeper feeling – the atmosphere, the importance of this sport to the communities. Curator: Exactly! I find myself almost transported through time by these delicate choices, you know? As if these were ancestral spirits calling for games! The longer one lingers, the deeper the resonances reverberate within, through colours and motions almost felt, to these very fields now beneath our feet. Editor: Definitely! I see that now. I’ll never look at this piece the same way again!