Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, one of our earlier machines experimenting with different techniques, this is a mixed medium, Ali news headlines paper collage, acrylic.

This machine is not only an Ali tribute, but also a tribute to sports reporters and newsprint stories.  It’s great to notice typewriters around the ring in those old vintage boxing photos.

This machine is a fully restored 1965 Olympia SM9.

One of our earlier machines that we experimented with.  This time I used a mixed medium to create this tribute piece.  I took newspaper clipping from old news print stories from some of the biggest news outlets of the day including The Chicago Tribune, The LA Times, Daily Telegraph among others.

One of the original thought concepts of this machine was to pay tribute, not only to Muhammad Ali and his incredible career, but also a nod to all sports writers of the time.  If you look at old photos of boxing from that era, especially an overhead shot, you will notice a large number of typewriters ringside being used by reporters typing all the action!

You wouldn’t know the result of a fight until the sports headlines hit the news stands the next day, especially if you had limited or no access to tv.  Radio was the way to listen to the fight.

The imagery was thought out and set around the different shapes and angles to give the viewer a glimpse of winning headlines and moments from the fights, it actually makes a fun read to catch all the moments.  I also added a small portrait hand painted of Ali across the front of the ribbon cover.  The machine is also a clamshell design that clips open to access the ribbon in one connected piece.  A great design and makes the clamshells great for painting on.