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the net It’s a pretty good day when you get to meet a football legend. Lorna Davies interviews the undisputed god of the goals Pelé, to discuss a new exhibition in honour of his 75th birthday 36 |
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clockwise from top: Pelé with Andy Warhol’s Pelé (1977); Ernesto Cànovas, Pelé Press, 2014; Ernesto Cànovas, Pelé Travel, 2014 OPPOSITE: Russell Young, Pelé, Brazil, 2015
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hat do you give the world’s greatest footballer for his birthday? It’s a tricky one, seeing as his achievements run into the hundreds. Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff said Pelé was the only footballer who “surpassed the boundaries of logic”, while former Madrid and Hungary legend Ferenc Puskás gave him an almost god-like status. “The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or Pelé (his nickname since school), was the youngest player ever to win a World Cup, a veteran of four World Cups, scorer of 1,283 professional goals (12 of them in World Cup tournament fixtures), a member of those magical Brazilian squads that won football’s greatest prize in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and Athlete of the Century, awarded by the International Olympic Committee. Perhaps an appropriate present is an exhibition of art inspired by and devoted to you? The legendary footballer arrived at Halcyon Gallery in September to unveil Pelé: Art, Life, Football – an exhibition celebrating his 75th birthday and a lifetime of sporting and humanitarian achievements – appropriately on a number 10 Pelé bus.
“First of all, I want to say thank you to all the artists who worked on this exhibition. It is a big honour, and also a big responsibility, to have this kind of impact on the world,” Pelé tells me before the opening. He was once described by Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup, as: “The greatest – he was simply flawless. And off-pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé.” Today, 45 years after that World Cup victory, he is a little older, a little slower, but he still loves being Pelé. His jolly demeanor and philosophical musings leave a smile on everyone’s face. I ask how much art has played a role in his life. “I love all forms of art. Singing, guitar, photography, paint. Even football, besides being a sport, is also an art. So I guess I have been inspired by art throughout my whole life,” he says. Works by internationally acclaimed artists including Lorenzo Quinn, Mitch Griffiths, Pedro Paricio, Santiago Montoya and Ernesto Cánovas depict the Brazilian legend in many guises, from
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a rt left: Louis Sidoli, Famous For 15 Centuries: Pelé, 2015 BELOW: Stuart McAlpine Miller, Animated Hero, 2015 All images courtesy Halcyon Gallery
“I love all forms of art. Singing, guitar, photography, paint. Even football, besides being a sport, is also an art. So I guess I have been inspired by art throughout my whole life” Quinn’s metallic sculptures and Paricio’s colour-block paintings to Cánovas’s muted mixed media works of Pelé. “I met some of the artists during my travels to London, Barcelona and Zurich. We spent time talking, getting to know each other, and the process was very enjoyable. There are so many diverse artists; they each capture a different aspect of me as a person and as an athlete,” Pelé says in his Portugueseaccented voice. One of the highlights of the exhibition is Warhol’s original painting, Pelé (1977), from his Athletes series comprising 10 portraits of sporting heroes. “I met Andy in New York, when I was playing for the New York Cosmos. He was a little bit shy,” Pelé smiles. “We spent time in his studio. And we also spent time at Studio 54. Andy was a big part of what made the 1970s a very exciting time to be in NYC.” The renowned pop artist famously predicted that one day, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, but it would be Pelé whose fame would last for “15 centuries.” Did Pelé ever believe, when he started playing for Santos at 15 in the São Paulo state championship, that his success would be so mind-blowing? “I never predicted any of this, I just worked very hard. And I stayed very true to my dreams, my passion and my faith. I want to thank God for having me here. I am blessed that I have been able to touch so many people throughout my life, all over the world.”
Born in 1940 in Três Çorações in Minas Gerais, northeast of Rio, Pelé is the elder of two siblings. Santos was one of only two clubs he represented in his entire career. By the age of 17, he was playing for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup – and winning it. Of footballers playing today, Pelé rates Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, who also played for Santos FC. Pelé visited London a few times to collaborate with the artists, and stayed near the gallery for the opening week of the exhibition. “I always enjoy coming to London. It is one of the most frequently visited places out of all my travels. But most of the times I came here, I was here to play so I didn’t ever have much time to walk around and be a tourist. Mayfair is always a good area for shopping,” he says. Lastly, I ask him if he has a favourite work of art in the show: “Selecting a favourite piece of art is just as difficult as selecting my favourite goal! I just want to thank everyone for supporting me, for giving me the opportunity to have this exhibit.” Pelé: Art, Life, Football is at Halcyon Gallery, 144-146 New Bond Street until October 25.
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back of
the net It’s a pretty good day when you get to meet a football legend. Lorna Davies interviews the undisputed god of the goals Pelé, to discuss a new exhibition in honour of his 75th birthday 36 |
ArtPele_3pp.indd 36
28/09/2015 13:07
clockwise from top: Pelé with Andy Warhol’s Pelé (1977); Ernesto Cànovas, Pelé Press, 2014; Ernesto Cànovas, Pelé Travel, 2014 OPPOSITE: Russell Young, Pelé, Brazil, 2015
W
hat do you give the world’s greatest footballer for his birthday? It’s a tricky one, seeing as his achievements run into the hundreds. Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff said Pelé was the only footballer who “surpassed the boundaries of logic”, while former Madrid and Hungary legend Ferenc Puskás gave him an almost god-like status. “The greatest player in history was Di Stefano. I refuse to classify Pelé as a player. He was above that.” Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or Pelé (his nickname since school), was the youngest player ever to win a World Cup, a veteran of four World Cups, scorer of 1,283 professional goals (12 of them in World Cup tournament fixtures), a member of those magical Brazilian squads that won football’s greatest prize in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and Athlete of the Century, awarded by the International Olympic Committee. Perhaps an appropriate present is an exhibition of art inspired by and devoted to you? The legendary footballer arrived at Halcyon Gallery in September to unveil Pelé: Art, Life, Football – an exhibition celebrating his 75th birthday and a lifetime of sporting and humanitarian achievements – appropriately on a number 10 Pelé bus.
“First of all, I want to say thank you to all the artists who worked on this exhibition. It is a big honour, and also a big responsibility, to have this kind of impact on the world,” Pelé tells me before the opening. He was once described by Tostão, his strike partner at the 1970 World Cup, as: “The greatest – he was simply flawless. And off-pitch he is always smiling and upbeat. You never see him bad-tempered. He loves being Pelé.” Today, 45 years after that World Cup victory, he is a little older, a little slower, but he still loves being Pelé. His jolly demeanor and philosophical musings leave a smile on everyone’s face. I ask how much art has played a role in his life. “I love all forms of art. Singing, guitar, photography, paint. Even football, besides being a sport, is also an art. So I guess I have been inspired by art throughout my whole life,” he says. Works by internationally acclaimed artists including Lorenzo Quinn, Mitch Griffiths, Pedro Paricio, Santiago Montoya and Ernesto Cánovas depict the Brazilian legend in many guises, from
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a rt left: Louis Sidoli, Famous For 15 Centuries: Pelé, 2015 BELOW: Stuart McAlpine Miller, Animated Hero, 2015 All images courtesy Halcyon Gallery
“I love all forms of art. Singing, guitar, photography, paint. Even football, besides being a sport, is also an art. So I guess I have been inspired by art throughout my whole life” Quinn’s metallic sculptures and Paricio’s colour-block paintings to Cánovas’s muted mixed media works of Pelé. “I met some of the artists during my travels to London, Barcelona and Zurich. We spent time talking, getting to know each other, and the process was very enjoyable. There are so many diverse artists; they each capture a different aspect of me as a person and as an athlete,” Pelé says in his Portugueseaccented voice. One of the highlights of the exhibition is Warhol’s original painting, Pelé (1977), from his Athletes series comprising 10 portraits of sporting heroes. “I met Andy in New York, when I was playing for the New York Cosmos. He was a little bit shy,” Pelé smiles. “We spent time in his studio. And we also spent time at Studio 54. Andy was a big part of what made the 1970s a very exciting time to be in NYC.” The renowned pop artist famously predicted that one day, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, but it would be Pelé whose fame would last for “15 centuries.” Did Pelé ever believe, when he started playing for Santos at 15 in the São Paulo state championship, that his success would be so mind-blowing? “I never predicted any of this, I just worked very hard. And I stayed very true to my dreams, my passion and my faith. I want to thank God for having me here. I am blessed that I have been able to touch so many people throughout my life, all over the world.”
Born in 1940 in Três Çorações in Minas Gerais, northeast of Rio, Pelé is the elder of two siblings. Santos was one of only two clubs he represented in his entire career. By the age of 17, he was playing for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup – and winning it. Of footballers playing today, Pelé rates Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, who also played for Santos FC. Pelé visited London a few times to collaborate with the artists, and stayed near the gallery for the opening week of the exhibition. “I always enjoy coming to London. It is one of the most frequently visited places out of all my travels. But most of the times I came here, I was here to play so I didn’t ever have much time to walk around and be a tourist. Mayfair is always a good area for shopping,” he says. Lastly, I ask him if he has a favourite work of art in the show: “Selecting a favourite piece of art is just as difficult as selecting my favourite goal! I just want to thank everyone for supporting me, for giving me the opportunity to have this exhibit.” Pelé: Art, Life, Football is at Halcyon Gallery, 144-146 New Bond Street until October 25.
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