Welcome Back To The Jungle

PR Log (Press Release) – Oct 30, 2009 – New York, New York--In celebration of the 35th anniversary of the “Rumble in the Jungle”, Muhammad Ali Enterprises (MAE) has commissioned No Mas, a New York based apparel and media company, to create “Rumblevison”, a series of three original animated short films. To explore the legendary fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman and the iconic scene in Zaire, No Mas founder and sport culture guru Chris Isenberg tapped three fine artists with complementary styles: watercolorist David Rathman and oil painter Jerome Lagarrigue and illustrator James Blagden. In conjunction with the viral release, No Mas will also retail the original artwork, editioned prints and t-shirts based on key frames, along with its current collection of licensed reproductions of t-shirts worn by Muhammad Ali during his storied career.

The animations celebrating Ali’s spectacular victory over Foreman will go live on today, on both the No Mas (www.nomas-nyc.com) and Ali (www.ali.com) websites and will be made widely available for embed and viewing on viral video players. David Rathman’s “Zaire” translates iconic historical moments—the press conference, the rope-a-dope, Ali’s stunning knockout, delirious crowds—into a stirring black-and-blue toned watercolor time capsule. For “Round Zero”, Jerome Lagarrigue draws inspiration from Ali's own zoological poetry ("I done wrassled with an alligator/Tussled with a whale.") in exploring Ali's mental and spiritual transformation in the moments before the bell sounds round one. James Blagden recreates the little known dance off between Muhammad Ali and The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, in GFOS vs GOAT.

No Mas founder Chris Isenberg, ex-journalist and childhood sports maniac, was inspired to start the brand after seeing a 1960s era photo of Muhammad Ali—then Cassius Clay—wearing a t-shirt screenprinted with his name in a Coca-Cola like script. This past summer, No Mas became an MAE licensee and released an official reproduction of that Cassius Clay shirt. The story of MAE and No Mas settling past usage and working out a way to move forward became a full page feature in the New York Times Magazine. During subsequent conversations with MAE, Isenberg previewed an animated short he had been working on with frequent No Mas collaborator James Blagden. On the strength of that piece, MAE commissioned Isenberg to produce Rumblevision on the anniversary of Ali vs. Foreman.

“In less than a year I’ve gone from making unauthorized Cassius Clay shirts, to having a license, to getting a commission to commemorate a huge Ali anniversary,” Isenberg says. “The fact that MAE was willing to work with me at all was surprising and wonderful, but them taking a chance on something leaning this far into the fine art realm, impressed me even more. Giving artists like David, Jerome, and James the freedom to interact with Ali’s legend and legacy completely on their own terms opened the door for amazing work.”

There is a Rumblevision hub at the No Mas site:

http://www.nomas-nyc.com/rumblevision/

Zaire by David Rathman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjlGoAoPbZs

Round Zero by Jerome Lagarrigue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXs-xu3XRx4

GFOS vs GOAT by James Blagden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLVkvNA6u4c

No Mas

No Mas makes apparel, art and media, dedicated to “The Thrill of Victory and the Ecstasy of Defeat.” The sport culture focused brand is carried at independent and major stores internationally including Bloomingdale’s, Fred Segal, Collete in Paris, United Arrows in Japan, and on the No Mas website at www.nomas-nyc.com. No Mas has licensing relationships with a growing number of athletes and brands including Muhammad Ali, Everlast, Lonsdale, Wiffle Ball, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Leon Spinks, and Gleason’s Gym. No Mas’s agency side Office of AIR (www.officeofair.com) does work for a variety of clients including Everlast and Nike.

MAE

Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC (“MAE”) is a California limited liability company, charged with the responsibility of managing Muhammad Ali’s name, likeness and trademarks as well as protecting and perpetuating the legacy of Muhammad Ali and the ideals he stands for. MAE oversees a worldwide licensing program, merchandising, television, film, video and Internet projects. For more information on MAE, visit www.Ali.com. MAE is a subsidiary of CKX, Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market® under the ticker symbol "CKXE." Also visit www.ckx.com.

David Rathman

David Rathman has had solo shows in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and Minneapolis. His work is in the collections of the Walker Art Center, The New Museum, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, Yale University Library, and The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Rathman is represented in New York by Larissa Goldston Gallery, and in Minneapolis by the Weinstein Gallery.


Jerome Lagarrigue              

French born, RISD educated Jerome Lagarrigue is represented by Galerie Olivier Waltman in Paris, who showed his large canvas portraits of Brooklynites this past summer. He recently completed a commission for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tosca, has provided illustrations for a book of Maya Angelou’s poems, and received the Villa Medici Grant from the French Academy in Rome. His father Jean Lagarrigue was an Esquire art director and illustrator, whose drawings of Muhammad Ali were featured in the November 1969 issue of Esquire which bore the coverline: “Muhammad Ali deserves the right to defend his title.”

www.jeromelagarrigue.com


James Blagden

Reared in Denver and now a Brooklyn resident, James Blagden, has been commissioned by large and small media and apparel brands to create illustrations in his signature style. James participated in the No Mas x Frank 151 Sports Issue, illustrating the Illustrated History of Drugs and Sports. He is working with No Mas on an ongoing series of animated videos. His first was about Dock Ellis and was followed up by this Muhammad Ali project.

www.jamesblagden.com