By Andrew Coen
The exhibit is on view at the Hofstra University Museum Emily Lowe Art Gallery through Dec. 2. In conjunction with the exhibition, Hofstra University recently hosted a conference, on Nov. 13 and 14, called “The Greatest: From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali,” which examined the boxing legend’s life and impact in the world of sports and society.
Ali, who was born as Cassius Marcellus Clay before converting to Islam, is known not just for his boxing prowess but for his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War and other humanitarian causes he was not afraid to take on.
The exhibit features 60 rare and vintage photos going back to when the boxing legend was a 12 year-old old growing up in Louisville, through his storied boxing career and retirement. It concludes with Ali receiving the 2005 Presidential Medal of Freedom award at the White House by President Bush.
Some of the nation’s most respected photo journalists contributed to the exhibit including Art Shay, Flip Schulke, Gordon Parks and Anne Leivowitz. In addition to numerous photos, there is also a display of Ali’s boxing gloves and poems he wrote over the years.
“It’s a very exciting exhibit that traces all aspects of his life,” said Beth Leventhal, director of the Hofstra Museum Emily Lowe Art Gallery. “There are so many compelling photos.”
Ali compiled a 56-5 record during his 21 year boxing career, including 37 knockouts and capturing the world heavyweight title three times. The boxing legend also captured the light heavyweight Olympic gold medal during the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. It was news out of the ring, however, that made Ali a household name in the 20th century – with his alliance with the Nation of Islam under Malcolm X and refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, which caused wide-spread controversy during the tumultuous 1960s.
The 60 photos on display include many of his great boxing moments such as his 1974 knock out George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire known as “the Rumble in the Jungle.” There are also visuals of Ali greeting Cuban dictator Fidel Castro during a visit to the United Nations and with actor Michael J. Fox during a fund-raiser for Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating illness the boxing legend has suffered from since the 1980s.
“It’s really a fascinating look at him,” said Leventhal. “It’s a very broadly appealing exhibit on someone everyone has come to know of.”
The exhibit, which was curated by Hava Gurevich, director of New York-based art2art Circulating Exhibitions, is completely original and not shown anywhere else. Gallery guides are provided to attendees as well as an exhibition check-list. “It’s an original exhibit created for Hofstra and it’s not going anywhere,” said Leventhal. “It is such a rare opportunity.”
The timing of the Ali exhibit is fitting given that on Nov. 4 the U.S. elected its first African-American president in Barack Obama, a path helped set forth in part by Ali. “Ali is definitely in the pantheon of African Americans,” said Leventhal. “His own life has had such an impact on making great strides for African-Americans.”
Hours for the Emily Lowe Gallery during the Ali exhibit are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m; Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery will be closed on Thanksgiving weekend from Nov. 27-30.
The museum is on Hofstra’s south campus, but attendees are encouraged to park in the school’s northern section off Hempstead Tpke. where there is ample parking. The gallery can be reached by either a short walk across a pedestrian bridge or by courtesy shuttle bus.
For further information, call (516) 463-5672 or visit www.hofstra.edu/museum.
