NEW YORK—Some of the most interesting art projects are often reinterpretations of ordinary, everyday objects. Reinvented using new materials or presented in alternative contexts, familiar items such as basketballs and carpets become short-hand symbols for entire nations and cultures, challenging traditions and expectations of identity. The appeal may not always be so heady. Sometimes it’s just inspiring to see an innovative take on the mundane.
Nevin Aladag began her carpet ball series in 2010. While basketball is played throughout the world—and Aladag’s native Turkey has a professional team—the sport is most prominently viewed as a symbol of American pop culture. The artist bridges worlds by combining textiles sourced throughout Asia and the Middle East, wrapping real basketballs with the carpet remnants and securing them with leather lacing. She has also created carpets that are like small-scale paintings of basketball courts, each stroke a unique textile pattern forming the key or the sidelines.
Aladag’s series was featured at the Rampa Gallery booth at Frieze New York and is on view at the Istanbul gallery through May 26, 2012.
Photos by Arts Observer
Above, “Pattern Matching (PM-Red),” 2010 (carpet collage), and at bottom (and top of page), left to right, “Carpet Ball VI,” “Carpet Ball III,” “Carpet Ball IV,” (all three 2010-2012, rug, leather and basketball).
Detail of “Pattern Matching (PM-Red).”
A trio of carpet balls.