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MARIA MOLTENI
My work is conceptual, formal, socially engaged, deeply researched, collaborative, contemplative and mystical.
BMC ALLSTARS X NCAA / WEATHERSPOON ART MUSEUM, GREENSBORO, NC
BMC Allstars is a body of work conceived by Molteni and executed in collaboration with New Craft Artists in Action artists Taylor McVay, Andrea Sherrill Evans and Jordan Tynes. The first of these works were created for the exhibition To The Hoop at the Weatherspoon Museum of Art at UNCGreensboro in North Carolina. Since we have a deep love for the work created at Black Mountain College in North Carolina and because Molteni playfully imagines themself as the Phys Ed “coach” at BMC, we decided to create a series of works in tribute to various BMC artists. See below for titles, credits and descriptions of each work.
BMC.2020 Double Sunk Dunk (After Ruth Asawa), 2019
Piece designed by Andrea Evans & Maria Molteni, net crafted by Andrea Evans, backboard crafted by Maria Molteni
Cotton yarn and nylon mason twine, fabric stiffener
Black White Yellow (After Anni Albers) + Homage to the Hoop (After Josef Albers), 2019
Piece designed by Taylor McVay & Maria Molteni, net crafted by Taylor McVay, backboard crafted by Maria Molteni
Handwoven panels (cotton, silk, wool, nylon mason twine), Nylon webbing, cotton twill tape, cotton macrame cord
Yarn Over, Double Dribble: Basketball Handling Score (After John Cage), 2019
Drawing by Maria Molteni translated from "Diamond in the Rough" knitting pattern by Andrea Evans, Featured in NCAA Net Works publication Learn to Craft Handmade Basketball Nets for Empty Hoops in Your Neighborhood (2014)
Performed live as part of Digital Soup in 2019
Video performance conceived and performed by Maria Molteni, Filmed and produced by Jordan Tynes.
This performance, pairs ball handling techniques with knitting stitches, such as yarn over, knit two together (K2TOG), found in a basketball net pattern created Andrea Sherrill Evans. The pattern, is transformed into a conceptual score performed live by Molteni as one reads sheet music. The pattern is also one of many found in the New Craft Artists in Action 2014 publication “Net Works: Learn to Craft Handmade Basketball Nets for Empty Hoops in Your Neighborhood”
ABOUT TO THE HOOP EXHIBITION / Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC
Press Release:
From its storied invention in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith as a recreational activity for “incorrigible” youth, to its multibillion-dollar industry today, basketball has uniquely captured America’s imagination—and stolen North Carolina's heart.
Embedded in its history are many of the topics fueling current social concerns and contemporary art. Divisions between rural and urban cultures can be considered in the distinctions between the sport’s development in farming town gymnasiums and inner-city playgrounds. Increasing commercialization can be traced through its intersections with fashion and franchising. Issues of racial equity reverberate through the NBA and NCAA. And, the advancement of women’s roles can likewise be considered through the early adaptation of rules for female athletes and the successes of the WNBA.
That game’s golden era of the late 1970s through the 1990s coincided with both an explosion of the contemporary art market and with artistic shifts towards addressing so many of the social issues—race, gender, economics—that readily surface in basketball’s widespread popularity. And, basketball’s distinct visual qualities make it an apt subject for artists: unlike a baseball concealed in a glove or a football buried under a pileup, a basketball is readily seen, and the athletes wear relatively minimal uniforms on an indoor court where cameras easily capture their expressions as they soar towards elevated goals.
To the Hoop explores these myriad facets of basketball’s intersection with contemporary art and culture, offering an opportunity to consider our world through the overlapping lenses of sport and art.
EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Gina Adams | Daniel Arsham | Bill Bamberger | Janet Biggs | Mark Bradford | Kendell Carter | André Leon Gray | David Hammons | David Hilliard | David Huffman | Brian Jungen | Jeff Koons | Suzanne McClelland | Esmaa Mohamoud | New Craft Artists in Action (NCAA) | Paul Pfeiffer | Joyce J. Scott | Lorna Simpson | Victor Solomon | Hank Willis Thomas | Nari Ward
Organized by Dr. Emily Stamey, Curator of Exhibitions.