Muhammad Ali: Unguarded, Unyielded and Undeclared - The Intimate Portraits of a Fighter's Heaven
“Forty-two years ago I photographed Muhammad Ali in the rural Pennsylvania sanctuary he called ‘Fighter’s Heaven’ as he prepared for the greatest contest of his career. Here was the most famous and contentious personality on the planet in his private retreat – the calm eye of the public hurricane – which was most of his life. While a global audience was fixated on his fate, I was able to record aspects of Ali virtually unknown.”
Peter Angelo Simon, January 2016
Tucked between a newsagents and a busy main road, the location of Serena Morton Gallery is a much needed calm from the aggressive London rush. Muhammad Ali’s words ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’ ring out in my head as I walk through the space. On the walls are around fifteen black and white photographs by artist Peter Angelo Simon. His exhibition is entitled Muhammad Ali, Fighter’s Heaven 1974. No big elaborate sculptures are included, just the raw simple, form that is the photograph.
It is in this small quiet room that Peter Angelo Simon attempts to show a different side to Muhammad Ali - the fighter, the champion and to some, the legend. The photos read like snapshots from a personal memoir book shared between Ali and Simon. They reveal an intimacy rarely associated with the fighter’s notorious reputation.
‘Rules of my Kitchen’ is a perfect example of this. In this photograph we see Ali and his friends congregating in his Aunt’s kitchen. Each one of the men are heavyweight champions, kings of the boxing community and yet perceived as regular, everyday people in a domestic kitchen. What Simon’s has done here is strip away their titles and their fame making them equal and relatable to the person looking at the photo. On the back of the wall is a long list of rules devised by his Aunt. We get a sneak peak into Ali’s family and how they kept him grounded him throughout his apparent stardom.
A personal favourite is ‘Dawn Run’ The shot, like all the others, is stark black and white. The sun flares into the camera taking up the majority of the left hand side of the composition. Ali is running into the distance at sunrise, mid ground, capturing our attention as always but in a much different way than we have seen before. There is great subtly to this shot, it captures Ali’s charisma, even in a frozen mid-run position, all eyes are on him. It showcases his determination as he trains in the early hours of the morning as well as the intimate relationship the photographer has with his subject. This rare moment of tranquility is a humbling depiction. Simon received a call from his hotel room to grab his camera and follow Ali. He follows him slowly in his car and snaps at him running. His first shot hangs on the wall of the gallery.
What comes with this exhibition are the passions of its spectators. Walking through the room I hear pockets of conversations. People discuss anecdotes they have heard about Muhammad Ali and the personal struggles he had with race and diversity as a black fighter. People gravitated towards him because of his strength and courage and this is something the photos represent without any words at all.
Simon’s photograph portfolio reflect Ali’s downtime and his multi-faceted personality. Each photo is slightly grainy as if to soften the sharp lines of Ali’s muscular form or to give an all over dream like glaze to a fighting scene. Simon uses fish-eye camera lenses and a soft focus to blur the edges of his pieces, again this could be done to look like a drawing, a sketch from a cherished memory that we are honoured to view. A, thought provoking, must see for any lover of photography, art and the depiction of a great fighter.
Olivia Topley
Muhammad Ali - A Fighter's Heaven runs until May 28th 2016 at Serena Morton Gallery http://serenamorton.com/
