Varient #2, the final in artist Brian Jungen's series of works made from Air Jordan models was produced explicitly for MJ himself in 2005. The sculpture has been in the legendary baller's private collection since then, shown now (in public venue) for the first time ever.
Jungen's work is part of the Vancouver Art Gallery's current Beat Nation. The exhibition explores a generation of American artists who mix traditional Aboriginal (native) identity with the typical symbols of urban youth culture. They use hip-hop as a base, transforming old methods of storytelling through the vocabulary of this newer art form. It is about mixing, mashing-up, and remixing the old and the new, the rural and the urban, to give contemporary voice to the changing demographics of Aboriginal people today.
The exhibition is also a find way for us to find out What Kind of Art Michael Jordan Owns.
Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop, and Aboriginal Culture runs through June 3, 2012.
Photo Credit: Sarah Carter.
