Articulate Muscle at the Whitney Museum: Recognizing Bodybuilding as an Artform

Abstract

Just as an artistic discipline, bodybuilding is an art form that can be analyzed and examined.This paper will argue that, at its highest stature, bodybuilding is not simply a sport, but rather a presentation of fine art. First, the paper will compare the representation of the human form in Greek, Roman and Renaissance Art to bodybuilding as a sculptural art form. Then, by examining the performance and movement on stage, as well as training and body aesthetics, shown by dancers in ballet, this paper will note the similarities between bodybuilding and dance. The final comparison will aim to conceptualize bodybuilding as performance art, examining both the public and critical reception of a 1976 exhibition at the Whitney Museum entitled Articulate Muscle: The Male Body in Art. These three examples will show the parallels between bodybuilding and art in order to form a more perfect understanding of why bodybuilding deserves the privilege of being called a form of art, and why conceptualizing bodybuilding as art opens up the category of art to other forms of creativity.