How ‘Art But Sports’ creates visual magic — and draws inspiration from Philly

Sometimes, after an incredible DeVonta Smith catch, or a Bryce Harper home run, or a ridiculous Phanatic moment, you might think to yourself, “That was a work of art.”

So does LJ Rader, the mastermind behind Art But Make It Sports, an account on X and Instagram comparing paintings, drawings, sculpture, and more to sports photography, from the masterful to the silly. He recently partnered with NFL Films and the Philadelphia Museum of Art to share insight into his process — because while some think he uses some kind of artificial intelligence, Rader explains it’s all him. And he doesn’t even have an art degree.

So how does he do it?

Rader has a massive folder on his phone of pieces of art he’s seen in museums that he thinks he might one day want to use. When he travels to museums like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he’s on the lookout for paintings that are evocative and have movement to them.

“Movement in art often plays well, because you get movement in sports, so limbs going different directions, anything that deviates from the norm, I end up photographing,” Rader told The Inquirer. “I have tons of photos of regular pieces of art, but even if you were to pair that with a sports moment, if there’s nothing that you can latch on to that’s funny or unique, then the post will fall flat.”

He also tries to connect the works thematically. A piece that may not be an exact one-to-one visual match can become a better fit when the meaning of the painting is similar to what’s in the image.

And when you can get the theme and visuals to match …

Many of Rader’s posts have come from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And sometimes he plans ahead. One of his favorites from the Art Museum is Two Rhythms, by Edith Clifford Williams, which he paired with a photograph of Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis during the Paris Olympics. After seeing the painting, he immediately knew it would work perfectly for the pole vaulter, and kept it in his folder for his likely gold-medal win.

Rader, a New Yorker and Knicks fan, also used some artwork from the museum to commemorate the Knicks’ first-round win over the Sixers.

“You’ve got the visual tie in, right?” Rader said. “It looks the same, but also it was the Knicks, so I was being silly. It’s a little disparaging to Philly, so I don’t know if you want to include that one.”

The Art Museum has been a longtime supporter of the account, following, liking, and commenting on Rader’s posts, especially the ones he’s pulled from their walls. When NFL Films reached out to do a collaboration, he knew he wanted to film it there.

“Over the past year, we’ve enjoyed building a relationship with LJ and the Art But Make It Sports account, which often highlights pieces from our collection in unique, unexpected ways,” said Courtney Anderson, the Art Museum’s digital content strategist. “LJ’s talent for linking sports moments with art pieces is remarkable, bringing new audiences into the conversation and breaking down traditional boundaries in both worlds. We love every opportunity to engage and share his content with our community and welcome the new audience of sports fans.”

Rader grew to love art thanks to his grandmother, who loved paintings, but he works in sports. Rader didn’t study art history, or ever work in a museum — he’s just a fan. That relatability helps him bring paintings to people who aren’t traditionally art enthusiasts in new and exciting ways, and he’s glad to see traditional museums like the Art Museum embrace his account.

“Oftentimes I hear from people that are art teachers and in the space that the account excites them, because there is an educational angle,” Rader said. “It exposes people to art and lets them embrace art in a way that art hasn’t necessarily historically been presented. Oftentimes the art world is seen as insular and intimidating.

“I think the account helps bridge the gap between that and brings art to to more people. Whenever you can get acknowledgment from the quote-unquote ‘establishment,’ it’s exciting.”

Not all of his best works are based on paintings hanging in the Art Museum. One of Rader’s all-time favorite Philadelphia art matches is this photo of the Phanatic from the 2022 World Series and James Tissot’s Jésus monte seul sur une montagne pour prier (Jesus goes alone on a mountain to pray).

J.T. Realmuto in the corner is meant to represent the moon, the fans in the background are the stars, and the Phanatic on top of the dugout is floating the way Jesus in the painting is floating — plus, the Phanatic is basically the Jesus of Philly sports, which made this painting the best match, Rader said.

In the modern age, Rader is fighting against commenters who believe he can’t possibly make matches on his own, and that he must be using AI to locate the paintings. But to Rader, there would be no point of the account if he used AI to do it.

“One of the reasons I keep running it is because it’s fun for me,” Rader said. “You get that hit of dopamine when you make that connection between the sports image and the art image. You lose it if you were to use a tool. Any time I can pull a little thing that I’ve remembered from a bigger piece, those become a lot of fun. Same with abstract art. It’s much more exciting if you compare a shape or something abstract to a human.”

And Rader is really, really good at it. He’s even matched pictures to iconic pieces of art live on podcasts, just to show that he’s not using the help of computers — other than the folder on his phone where he stores all those inspirational photos to break out at just the perfect moment.

You never know when one might pop up.