EDO Ball: The Art of Basketball

A captivating work of cultural blending unlike anything created prior, Andrew Archer's Edo Ball must be seen to be believed.

This series of paintings seamlessly fuses contemporary basketball imagery with Edo-period Japanese art and culture, with captivating results. Each image riffs on a classic Japanese painting or subject, adding a surprisingly weighty visual twist as Archer's deft world-building weaves these disparate visual iconographies into a cohesive whole.

Often front and center, an NBA personality is dramatically re-imagined and yet recognizable, surrounded by the myriad trappings of the "floating" world. See Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa re-imagined as a court bursting apart at the floorboards and carried forward by a surge of hundreds of basketballs. A Torii gateway becomes the backstop for a basketball hoop, with a backdrop of mountains and a vast, snowy sky. Brief, accompanying texts describe the thematic connections between each painting's converging themes, and explore the roles that culture, community, celebrity, and games play in our daily lives.

Featuring:
Lebron James - James Harden - The Mask / Kyrie Irving - Shaquille O'Neal - Dirk Nowitzki - Dikembe Mutombo - The Brodie / Russell Westbrook - The Splash Brothers / Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson - The Black Mamba / Kobe Bryant - Vince Carter - Karl-Anthony Towns - The Greek Freak / Giannis Antetokounmpo - The Durantula / Kevin Durant - Allen "The Answer" Iverson - The Reign Man / Shawn Kemp - Anthony "The Brow" Davis - Damian "Dame Time" Lillard - White Chocolate / Jason Williams - The Law / Kawhi Leonard

Publisher: Gingko Press
Published: 12/18/2018
Pages: 96
Weight: 2.2lbs
Size: 12.60h x 9.70w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781584237150

About the Author
Archer, Andrew: - Andrew Archer is an illustrator and art director who was born in Auckland, New Zealand and currently resides in Melbourne, Australia. Inspired by pop culture, fashion, surrealism, wood block prints and his time spent in Asia his work is a self asserting mix of hallucinogenic color and rhythmic line. Andrew mixes visual styles effortlessly and his versatility and unique approach to each individual brief has seen him work with a diverse range of clients. Clients include Audi, Nike, BBC, Samsung, Adobe, TAG Heuer, The National Basketball Association (NBA), Adidas, Jordan Brand, FoxSports and ESPN.