William Lamson, “Long Shot,” 2009, site specific installation
through January, 2010
The Lot / Artspace
812 Chapel Street, near intersection of Orange Street
It does not make a democracy of basketball, but William Lamson’s installation on Chapel Street manages to redefine the dimensions of the game, at the same time eliminating its conventional measures of skill. It is as if Lilliputians have wandered onto Gulliver’s court with their own balls. There is a comic dimension to this rendering of urban sport, provoking equal parts frustration and amusement. Since the playing area is too small in relation to its goals, with a surface unfriendly to bouncing, notions of fair and foul evaporate. One rule is clear. One must play with absolute seriousness, as if unaware of the absurdity at work. Or else shoot something the size of a tennis ball, making the paradox of scale complete. Or, since standard basketballs will be available for loan at Artspace, 50 Orange Street, until the installation is removed in January of next year, organize a game in the snow.
Object Lesson #28
Object Lessons #26 & #27
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Object Lessons #23 & #24
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