Free Basket is a public artwork by the Cuban

Cuban

Cuban may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent. For more information about the Cuban people, see Demographics of Cuba and Culture of Cuba...

 artist group Los Carpinteros

Los Carpinteros

Los Carpinteros is the name of a group of young Cuban artists that specializes in creating humorous installations and objects. In 1991 Marco Antonio Castillo Valdes, Dagoberto Rodriguez Sanchez, and Alexandre Arrechea formed Los Carpinteros—however they didn’t adopt the name until 1994, “deciding...

, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park

100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park

100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park is a public park located behind the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The park opened in 2010, showing large site specific installation art works by Alfredo Jaar, Andrea Zittel, Atelier Van Lieshout, Kendall...

, in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The artwork is in the form of an international basketball court with twenty-four red or blue steel arches that travel throughout the court, mimicking the trajectory of two bouncing basketballs. Two of the arches terminate with their own regulation size basketball hoop, netting, and backboard.

Description

Free Basket is located outside the boundary of the 100 Acres park on city property. The parking loop surrounding the artwork is situated just south of the Lake and west of the museum. The artwork can be accessed by means of the IWC Canal Greenway (Central Canal Trail), W 38th Street, and the 100 Acres Park walkway. Free Basket is a site-specific work consisting of twenty-four red- or blue-painted steel tubular arches that mimic the trajectory of two bouncing basketballs. The arches travel throughout the court and are of varying heights and span widths. Two of the arches (one red and one blue) are capped at midpoint, each with their own basketball backboard fashioned with: backboard, metal rim, and nylon net. The steel arches have been mounted on a level, rectangular concrete surface that is size of an international basketball court, where they have been filled and secured with concrete cement. The concrete court has been surfaced with Rhino Guard® colored plastic and has been painted to the standards of an international basketball court. The primary court color is yellow, the “goal lines” are painted white, and sections of black and green flank both sides of the court, and a black border surrounds entire court. There are also built-in lighting systems that have been sunk into the court at various locations so that the structure may be illuminated.

Historical information

Los Carpinteros continues their interest in the juxtaposition of the practical and the imaginary with the creation of Free Basket. In developing their project, Los Carpinteros chose to draw on the rich history of sports in the city of Indianapolis. Their project seeks to bring together art, culture and sports, providing an interactive platform for the larger community that engages them in art.
In developing their project, Los Carpinteros references the rich history of basketball in the city of Indianapolis, creating a socially interactive installation that merges art, sports, and culture.

Artist

Los Carpinteros is an art collective consisting of Marco Antonio Castillo Valdés (b. 1971) and Dagoberto Rodríguez Sánchez (b.1969). The Havana, Cuba based group was formed in 1991. Both Sánchez and Valdés graduated from the Superior Art Institute in of Havana (ISA) in 1994 and 1995, respectively. Los Carpinteros’s work combines meticulous crafsmanship with shrewd political and social nuances. Their sculptures, drawings, and installations draw inspiration from the physical world—particularly that of architecture and furniture. Los Carpinteros’s pieces are part of the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City, the Museo Meiac in Badajoz, Spain, and the Museo de Bellas Artes in Havana. Los Carpinteros’s Free Basket, located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, is the group’s first permanent public commission in the United States.

Condition

In general, the artwork requires regular cleaning of both the steel and court components to discourage the buildup of damaging materials. Instrumental analysis involving the artwork's color and gloss levels has also been recorded.