THE LARGE FORMAT MIXED-MEDIA PAINTING ‘M.A.A.D. CITY> ZULUS’ (B-BALL VIRTUOSITY) IS SKIP HILL’S VISUAL COMMENTARY ON CONTEMPORARY BLACK MALE IDENTITY IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE AND AFRICAN AMERICAN AESTHETIC CONSCIOUSNESS, AS EXAMINED THROUGH THE FRAMEWORK OF AMERICAN BASKETBALL.
Sketchbook notes sourced from various essays and books including Nelson George’s ‘Elevating The Game’ and William C. Rhoden’s ‘40 Million Dollar Slaves’. Danielle Alexandria Davis Howard’s Ph.D. dissertation, ‘Making Moves: The Performance of Black Bodies and The Function of Aesthetics in American Basketball’ has been a most helpful contribution to the conceptual foundation of this artwork.
"The M.V.P. launching with a vertical leap into space like NASA, a street ball disciple dropping bombs like Nas. A fierce visage covered in warpaint and poetry, a profile in bronze like Ife-Benin royalty. Improvising tempo with free agency like jazz, like Miles."
The artwork contemplates basketball as an embodied art form utilizing improvisation, costumes, and an ensemble of actors with the ball court as a stage, where African American culture, ideas of masculinity, sport and the free agency of performance intersect.
- Subject Matter: Basketball Players
- Created: c. January 2022
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