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New Exhibition Dedicated To Baseball

/ Collections - Exhibitions - In the Community

Black Diamond, Radcliffe Bailey, 2007
Black Diamond, Radcliffe Bailey, 2007

In celebration of the start of the Birmingham Baron’s season, the Museum opens a small exhibition of works dedicated to the sport of baseball. Out with the Crowd features 14 photographs by David Levinthal, and one large-scale, mixed-media piece by Radcliffe Bailey.

The photographs are selections from Levinthal’s series, Baseball. These images depict legendary moments in baseball history, recreated using antique and recently manufactured figurines of celebrated baseball players including Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron.

Bailey’s work, Black Diamond, represents the role baseball played in the Civil Rights Movement. The hanging sculpture was made using military blankets, wool, and wood; and fills an entire gallery wall. The work is a recent gift to the Museum’s collection by the Aardt Foundation in honor of the Mayor of the City of Birmingham, William A. Bell, Sr.

On the subject of his work, Bailey once remarked, “When I think of baseball, I see that people play it for the love of the game, for their family, their communities, to transform their world. So baseball for me, is a metaphor that stands for all these things.”

Out with the Crowd is free admission and will be open through May 17. Play Ball!