The modern world, obsessed with a healthier lifestyle, sees many adults in their fifties and sixties put on their sneakers after one or more decades of inactivity to train for the next New York marathon. Aside from these brave amateurs, most of the athletes we see are young and sculpted like statues, retiring at 30 after breaking a few records along with their bodies. For this series, Angela Jimenez focused on competitors over 35, in particular the 70-somethings who really are of retirement age. Their bodies are still powerful—”ferocious,” she says—and the ripples in their skin are due more to their muscles than their wrinkles. There they are, racing around oval tracks, leaping into sand pits, throwing javelins, pushing their physical limits with their eyes on the record books.
Armed with a medium-format camera and black-and-white film, Jimenez captures these retirees in action, joining the tradition of imagery glorifying athletes, beginning with Leni Riefenstahl’s photographs of the Olympic Games. The contrast between Riefenstahl’s Apollos and Jimenez’s is what makes the series powerful and this unknown world so mysterious. “It can actually be a bit scary to watch,” says Jimenez. “It’s not what you are used to seeing an older person do. It’s inspiring and brave, but also uncomfortable.”
Racing Age, Angela Jimenez
Through January 23rd, 2015
111 Front Street, Suite 204
United States
