The
Five Challenges | mixed
media assemblage |
12" x 16" | Daniel
Wend
One
of the ways I express myself creatively is to play basketball.
I've played hoops for many years,
with countless people in a wide variety of settings. Over the
years, I've always worn headbands.
Each headband in this piece was probably worn for hundreds of
games. The game of basketball -
as in the pursuit and development of one's art - requires determination,
the will to improve
one's skill level, experience, and the ability to improvise. The
wherewithal to spring back from
defeat and frustration is a necessary survival skill in the world
of both basketball and art making.
These headbands, sealed in metallic acrylic and enamel paints,
are a commemoration of times and
connections in my life associated with playing basketball in so
many places, with so many people, for
so many years. This art is also symbolic of the challenges one
faces in playing a sport like basketball
as I can attest to. The challenge of physicality - how
effectively you can use your body to the
best advantage against an opponent of a different size or strength.
The challenge of skill - how
to best use control over your body in a strategic way to outmaneuver,
out-think and outplay an
opponent. The mental challenge - of overcoming intimidation,
maintaining self-confidence, and
keeping a sharp focus on the game. The challenges of injuries
- playing through and ignoring
sprains, hyperextensions, joint injuries, tendon problems, and
a host of other bodily problems that
can hinder or inhibit playing. The challenge of age - the
will and the capacity to compensate for
age-related decreases in speed, jumping ability, or endurance,
and to play with pain, or the
limitations of movement that come with an aging body.
Those
of us who have continued to play this sport for decades often
bear the scars and joint problems
that are almost inevitable from repetition, collisions with other
players, hard falls, twisting knees,
hyperextended elbows, sprained wrists, buckled ankles, and neck
injuries from hard jolts, awkward
falls, or bad fouls.
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