Ali

“Ali” from Maddon Art (“Put the Art Back in Thee Game”) and artist, Jason Skeldon for The Art of Baseball Collection -
Framed gallery wrap 100% cotton fabric canvas with high quality print. Every frame is built with a solid face to support the canvas and prevent deforming. Measurements are 18” x 12” x 1.25.” Signature Imprimee.

2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon added an Andy Warhol-style painting of a young Muhammad Ali to his art collection. It outlines the five levels of being a professional baseball player. Maddon initially started thinking about the "levels" when he was with the Angels, sitting in the bowels of the stadium after games. The different levels are written in Maddon's handwriting. They include:
Level 1: Happy to be here
Level 2: Survivor (I like this, I want to stay here)
Level 3: I belong here -- I can do this
Level 4: I want to make as much money as I can
Level 5: All I want to do is win
The paintings have been created to inspire the Cubs. Bottom line? "The message is there for the players," Maddon said.

The artwork traces back to the Cubs Manager's belief that baseball is an artistic game and Major League players, as with all professional athletes, are artists. Maddon has been known to say “They’re not all oil paintings” after sloppy wins. This strategy of promoting baseball creates curiosity and attracts a wider audience to the sport while promoting the arts. The artwork is Maddon’s ideas brought to life by Jason Skeldon, an urban artist, through the use of pop culture images and associative word art.

About the Art (in the words of Joe Maddon):
Muhammad Ali is regarding the five levels of being a professional. This might be my favorite, only because the message is something I derived in 1995 sitting in the bowels of Anaheim Stadium at one o’clock in the morning after a tough loss. It was my first year as a major league coach. I had never played in the big leagues so I wanted to know what am I seeing here? What is going on here? What are the major leagues all about? That’s when I thought about the five levels of being a professional. I chose to put them on the Muhammad Ali art because I have never witnessed a more dynamic, charismatic figure in my lifetime. Eventually, I realized that these five levels not only pertained to Major League Baseball, but to any professional endeavor.

About the Artist:
Jason Skeldon admits he wasn't very good at playing baseball as a kid, but the Tampa, Fla., artist has made a big league connection as an adult. Skeldon and Joe Maddon have combined to create unique paintings to present the Cubs manager's message about the game.
“SKEL” is the alias for Artist Jason Skeldon, originally from Las Vegas. The artist has resided most of his life in Tampa, Florida. Jason has work hanging all over the United States including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, etc. His art style is influenced by pop culture and current events using spray paints, acrylic and water colors, stencils and resins. Skeldon used to draw his own comic books when he was young. A paramedic for eight years, he returned to painting because it helped him deal with anxiety and depression. Now, Skeldon is not only an artist but also a philanthropist. Jason never went to art school and created his own style of art through trial and error with multiple mediums. Influencers are Banksy (artist), Walt Disney, and Warren Buffet.