If you've spent any time on the internet over the past 24 hours, you've probably seen a few photographs from the Super Bowl (and most of them probably involved Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift). But if you're not yet familiar with Art But Make it Sports, I'm here to significantly improve your day.
The Twitter and Instagram accounts have been running for a while, and the concept is simple – admin LJ Rader places sports photos side-by-side with artworks they resemble. The comparisons always hit the spot – not only are they hilarious, but they also demonstrate Rader's impressively encyclopaedic internal art database. And if there's ever a time for the account to shine, it's during the Super Bowl. Take a look at some of the best examples below.
In a recent interview with Substack's Madeline Hill, Rader revealed that he doesn't use any kind of AI to find the art – he only uses Google Lens to find the credits for the photos and artworks. In most cases, the artwork is already living in his head. "Sometimes, I'm just watching game, I immediately know that's whatever piece of artwork. It's either a piece of artwork that I've taken a photo of and know or a famous piece of artwork. Then I'll go and try to find the highest resolution of that given piece. Sometimes it's a theme in art history."
From a wild logo design conspiracy to varyingly successful ads, we've seen all sorts of weird and wonderful Super Bowl news over the last few weeks. For a trip down memory lane, check out the history of the NFL logo.
