TWO HEADS, ONE GOAL
2011
Industry of the Ordinary reflect upon the origins of football for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.
The idea for the piece started with the supposed origins of the game – according to historical references and legend, early balls ranged from human heads, stitched up cloth, animal and human skulls to pig or cow bladders.
During the Ts'in and Han Dynasties (255 BC-220 AD), the Chinese played 'tsu chu', in which animal-skin balls were dribbled through gaps in a net stretched between two poles. Certain ancient Egyptian rites are said by historians to have similarities with football, and both the ancient Greeks and Romans also played a game
that entailed carrying and kicking a ball.
According to pre-medieval legend, an entire village would kick a skull along a path to a nearby village square. The opposing village would in turn attempt to kick the skull to the first village's square.
Special thanks to Jim Zimpel for casting expertise, Melody Snyder, Junn,
and Debra Purden for photography,
and to Amy Corle at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.