Athleta / 12

"Culture is not the daughter of labor, but of sport. The highest form of human existence is sport itself,” wrote the philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. Athleta Magazine Issue 12 carries that conviction forward, opening a new printed chapter in our ongoing exploration of the sporting imagination.

 

Sporting aesthetics evolve alongside sporting culture, a premise embodied by our cover, shaped through the eclectic visual language of Geoff Lowe: a manifesto of his singular compositions, expanded in the feature ‘Sporting Density.’ A different form of density, one made of epic narrative and motor-driven avant-garde, defines ‘Università Rossa,’ a Ferrari-inspired journey into the 24 Hours of Spa, told through the lens of albicantu. Excellence takes on yet another meaning in the off-the-pitch synergy between Juventus and Giorgio Armani. Framed by Alessandro “Zuek” Simonetti, ‘A Stage of Excellence’ elevates the timeless class and elegance shared by two pillars of Italian heritage. Simonetti’s documentary and anthropological eye also drives ‘If You Don’t Aim Big, What’s The Point?,’ produced in collaboration with Champion: an ode to the new wave rising in the ring, and to the illuminating boxing of Tiah-Mai Ayton. From the future to the past, whose presence still permeates and gives meaning to the now, ‘Long Walk Home’ by Robbie Lawrence uncovers the cultural value and global echoes of Scotland’s traditional games. Heritage breathes too in ‘Real Football,’ an immersion into the historic football of Chiddingstone, filtered through the aesthetic of Nick Bannehr. Another kind of immersion takes shape through the sporting art of Arnaud Jerald, France’s multi-world-record freediver, who invites us into his lyrical underwater sphere through Achille Mauri’s photography in the K-Way collaboration ‘Le Grand Bleu.’ Not the sea, but the frigid pulse of the Atlantic shapes ‘Baptism,’ João Lutz’s observation of a ritual linking New York’s frantic rhythms to the calm of open currents. Remaining in America, we enter the thunderous chaos of SMX and the Mud Fest, two motor-driven cultural phenomena portrayed respectively in ‘Up North Trip’ by Geoffrey Knott and in ‘Louisiana Mud Fest,’ a visceral gallery by Joe Hart. A continent away, chaos becomes sacred in Siena’s legendary Palio, captured by Edward Aked in ‘Oddio, s’è vinto il Palio!.’ From one kinetic marvel to another, ‘A Primal Emotion’ presents a visual study of the singular world of short track speed skating. RiseUp Duo’s images gather the hypnotic interplay of blades, ice, and velocity, together with the finest Italian athletes of the discipline. A multidimensional interpreter of fencing, Enzo Lefort opens a portal onto his dialogue with the fashion universe, and onto beauty as a mental state born from athletic expression. The editorial ‘Allez Lefort!,’ with portraits by Yoann Guerini and styling by Tiny Idols, reveals the natural resonance between foil and haute couture. Finally, we ascend toward higher, and other, altitudes with ‘Sky Pirates,’ Luke Hall’s ode to the aerial exploration of paragliding.

 

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Athleta is about telling this story in photos. It is the essence of strength and the absence of failure. That’s something that just doesn’t exist, when you know that you’ve given your all. The desire to try when there is no money to be won, but with simply the idea of being the best. These are pages to be looked at, explored and understood. They are images that have soul and touch the soul. They are details to discover. They are journeys to make.