The Art of the Matter

The Colorado Rockies, a new franchise
only three years old, is the first professional baseball team in
the game's history
to go to the playoffs in such a short existence. The last record holder,
the New York Mets, got there in eight years. With the support of Coors, a state
of the art ballpark reminiscent of
the oldtime stadiums is the new home of the Rockies.

Sipa Sipa® is enjoying free permanent publicity and attention in Denver, Colorado thanks to baseball and the newly constructed Coors Field. Lonnie Hanzon, local Denver artist, designed a sculpture entitled "The Evolution of the Ball," an imposing archway 32 feet high by 42 feet wide that adorns the Wynkoop Street entrance to the new ballpark. The sculpture's support columns consist of 108 highly glazed three-dimensional tiles depicting balls of every type "from oddball to wrecking ball to eyeball to debutante ball" according to Hanzon. So what do you think is just below the Sunrise Baseball, next to the Snow Ball Flower? It's a Sipa Sipa® footbag, ablaze in brightly colored terra cotta, proudly exhibiting its uniqueness amid the sameness of shapes.

Hanzon designed the sculpture based on his previous work "Shape Studies," interpretations of the circle, staff, cross, triangle, square, spiral, and star. When a friend was shown the circle studies, which included a baseball, she suggested he enter the baseball commission competition in Denver. "What a wonderful opportunity for me to make an artistic statement about commonality," he said. "We are all living together on a tiny little ball, and people that view the piece are going to find at least one ball that relates to some positive experience in their lives. It's about taking one thing and exhausting it to find the whole."

Hanzon's creation, with a price tag of approximately $115,000, was one of three pieces chosen in a contest sponsored by the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District. Gracing other areas of the park are the works by the other artists, a neon and aluminum mural of a sprinting base runner and a 100 ft. long painted chronology called "The West, the Worker, the Ballfield."

While doing research for the ballpark piece, Hanzon looked at balls used in sports in every store he could find. He was intrigued when he saw the crocheted Sipa Sipa® footbag in a Cherry Creek store. Its bright colors appealed to his artistic nature, and he liked the ethnic diversity representative in the name "sipa." (Sipa means "kick" in Tagalog, a Philippine language.)

The original Sipa Sipa® footbag was developed in the early 1980's when a California player began kicking around a crocheted change purse. Called "granny sacks" at first because elderly women crocheted them, the footbags were later produced in the Philippines and the name Sipa Sipa® was born.

The WFA is pleased that Sipa Sipa® has achieved a sort of "celebrity" status in Denver via the Hanzon sculpture. Now is a fitting opportunity to again acknowledge their generous support of the WFA's player's manual. Although our sport has seen limited sponsorship funds in comparison to more established sports, the growing promotional support from Sipa Sipa® has been most welcome.

Their long list of contributions includes endorsing events (local, state, regional and Worlds), sponsoring demonstration teams, and continuously placing advertisements in trade journals and event programs. Their sponsorship of footbag has ranged from television commercials to the WFA's popular player's manual. The manual is packed full of basic playing tips along with illustrations, a brief history of the sport, explanations of the four main disciplines, a WFA lifetime membership application, and the "way cool" kick dancin' sticker. The manual is used for new members and as a free handout at special events. Sipa Sipa's continued commitment in working with the WFA in creative and innovative ways will assuredly add greatness to the sport of footbag.

CONTENTS

On-Line Edition by Steven L. Goldberg, January, 1996.