Finding the art in the beautiful game
Where Fine Art Meets the Beautiful Game: LJ Rader’s World Cup Curation
Finding the art in the beautiful – During the 102nd minute of a dramatic World Cup clash between Cape Verde and Argentina, a moment unfolded that would captivate audiences worldwide. Sidny Lopes Cabral, the Cape Verdean fullback, unleashed a perfectly curved strike that found the back of the Argentine net. Immediately after scoring, he sprinted toward the stands where his partner, Jayley da Cruz, awaited. Their passionate embrace was captured on camera and rapidly spread across social media platforms.
That viral photograph caught the attention of LJ Rader, the creative force behind the beloved “Art But Make It Sports” accounts. Recognizing the image’s potential, Rader knew he needed to create something special. “Regardless of whether or not Cape Verde was going to win that match, that was the image that would summarize that game,” he explained regarding the moment.
The Art of Sports Photography
Rader’s creative platform operates on a simple yet brilliant concept: pairing dynamic sports photographs with classical paintings and sculptures. His work creates unexpected visual dialogues between athletic moments and artistic masterpieces. Earlier this year, he published a collection featuring his most celebrated comparisons, including a striking juxtaposition of Brandi Chastain’s iconic 1999 shirtless celebration alongside a twelfth-century sculpture of a kneeling female deity housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
During the FIFA World Cup, Rader has been working tirelessly. Social media users tag him with hundreds of images from various matches, and he races to discover the perfect artistic counterparts. Some pairings emerge instantly in his mind. When he encountered a photograph of English midfielder Jude Bellingham scoring with a header, he immediately recognized a resemblance to a Sibylle Bergemann photograph showing a statue of Friedrich Engels being positioned in East Berlin.
“I had just been waiting for the day where a player went completely horizontal to use it,” Rader noted about that particular connection.
Navigating Different Sports
The art and sports enthusiast discussed how his methodology adapts to different athletic disciplines. Soccer presents unique challenges compared to other sports. “On a day-to-day level, soccer tends to be harder just because there are only so many positions they can be, since can’t use their hands,” he observed. Football proves difficult because faces are often obscured, yet the greater number of players and movements create a balancing effect that makes it more manageable.
Basketball emerges as perhaps the most straightforward sport for his artistic comparisons. “Basketball is probably the easiest, just because players are always jumping and fighting, all the limbs are moving around, and there tends to be a lot of image variety,” Rader explained. However, the World Cup creates a special dynamic where everyone focuses on the same tournament simultaneously.
The Creative Process
Rader described how quickly he works when matching photographs to artwork. While each situation differs, they all operate within his established framework. He prefers original sports photographs over screenshots, seeking the strongest possible artistic pairing. His drafts folder contains numerous attempts that fell short of his personal editorial standards.
The World Cup’s global reach brings photographers from every corner of the world, providing Rader with an abundance of material. Sometimes he envisions the perfect frame just one or two seconds after a captured moment, when a player’s hand might shift into an ideal position. He occasionally communicates directly with photographers to access their complete collections—a practice uncommon outside major sporting events.
When working with screenshots, Rader often returns to the video footage to examine frames before or after the captured moment, searching for better arm positions or additional details. He recalled a Spain-Portugal encounter in Dallas featuring Spanish defensive midfielder Rodri and Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva. The two former teammates were captured taunting each other from behind, but Rader wanted a frontal angle where their faces would be visible. Though he couldn’t secure the exact composition he desired, the attempt demonstrated his commitment to finding the perfect artistic match.
The summer typically offers quieter periods for sports content, with only the WNBA, baseball, and Wimbledon providing regular coverage. Yet the World Cup transforms the season entirely. “Yeah, the summer is usually quiet across other sports,” Rader acknowledged. “But the tournament draws so much attention that it just becomes World Cup season for everybody.” Even as a dedicated WNBA supporter, he admitted his focus has shifted toward the global tournament.
Through his meticulous curation, Rader has built a worldwide community of followers who appreciate the intersection of athletic excellence and artistic beauty. His work continues to evolve as new moments unfold on the pitch, each one offering potential for another beautiful pairing between sport and art.
