On the basketball court, a player is “in the paint” when he or she is inside the area closest to the hoop. Visitors to the William Benton Museum of Art at the University of Connecticut can imagine what that might feel like at an exhibition opening Friday called “In the Paint: Basketball in Contemporary Art.”
The exhibit includes basketball-inspired paintings, photographs, sculptures and a 2-channel video installation called “One on One” where you can walk through projections of athletes playing on the court.
Benton director Nancy Stula said members of UConn’s basketball teams, including the 2013 women's Huskies, helped to create two of the paintings. “We dipped basketballs in paint, and they painted a large canvas. Later the men’s team came and they did the same thing," she said.
The exhibition also strives to add new dimensions to the way people see the sport of basketball, says assistant curator Jean Nihoul. The idea is “….to think about aspects of the sport that typically don’t get as much attention. A lot the works that we have deal with race. We have works that deal with performance and spectatorship.”
There’s a preview reception tonight with shuttle service provided from the Benton to Thursday night’s UConn’s men’s game. Admission to the Benton is free.
The exhibition “In the Paint” runs through the end of March.
