Installation views of THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF BASEBALL IN 100-ODD PAINTINGS: The Art of Ben Sakoguchi – at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, April 7 - September 4, 2016. (Exhibition photography by Robert Wedemeyer) (Exhibition design by Marci Boudreau and Vesna Petrovic of Picnic Design)

VINTAGE ORANGE CRATE LABELSFascinated by the graphic design of orange crate labels in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Sakoguchi has used their detailed, small format as a creative template.  The labels' romanticized vision of…

∞ BASEBALL GOES TO WAR (view paintings)               ∞ MISSES (view paintings)

∞ BASEBALL'S COLOR LINE (view paintings)               ∞ SEGREGATION / DE-SEGREGATION (view paintings)

∞ BOYS... AND GIRLS (view paintings)               ∞ SECTARIAN BASEBALL (view paintings)

∞ HOME GROWN (view paintings)               ∞ UNDERWEAR (view paintings)               ∞ LABOR / MANAGEMENT (view paintings)

∞ JEWISH AMERICAN BALLPLAYERS (view paintings)               ∞ ALL-TIME GREATS (view paintings)

∞ BODY APPEAL (view paintings)               ∞ ABLE-BODIED (view paintings)

∞ TOBACCO (view paintings)               ∞ GAMBLING ON BASEBALL (view paintings)

∞ JAPANESE AMERICANS (view paintings)               ∞ JAPANESE & CHINESE IN AMERICA (view paintings)

∞ GRASSROOTS BASEBALL (view paintings)               ∞ LOS CHORIZEROS (view paintings)

∞ BASEBALL HIGH JINKS (view paintings)               ∞ PIRATES & INDIANS (view paintings)

∞ THE NATIONAL PAST-TIME (view paintings)

∞ BABE RUTH & ASSOCIATES (view paintings)

MEXICAN AMERICAN BASEBALL:

THE UMPIRE:

STEROIDS:

CATCHERS:

HAIR:

The artist shared his thoughts in the short video that could be viewed in the gallery

Sakoguchi Video – 2016

The two small screens at left featured images of all paintings in the exhibition, along with text by Albert Kilchesty

The Unauthorized History of Baseball in 100-Odd Paintings: The Art of Ben Sakoguchi at the Skirball Cultural Center was supported by a grant from the Pasadena Art Alliance.