There Will Soon Be A ‘Space Jam’-Inspired Art Show In New York City

Who doesn’t love Space Jam? It’s a cult classic that seemed to spring from the middle of a late night drug binge, but turned out to be a genius idea. Most news about the Michael Jordan classic is sour these days, especially after the “reboot”  got denied as a sort of hoax. Luckily there are some out there keeping hope alive and carrying the torch for Space Jam fans everywhere.

I mean, a movie like Space Jam doesn’t just land on Earth and leave the crater sized impact it did to just fade away. Oh no, it’s an entity lives on in the hearts, minds, and now art of the people. In this case, specifically, an L.A based artist named Devin Strother. From The Huffington Post:

Basketball is at the center of Strother’s newest exhibition at Marlborough Chelsea, which will be transformed into a basketball court for the occasion. More specifically, the show revolves around “Space Jam,” yes, the 1996 work of movie magic in which Michael Jordan takes on Bugs Bunny and his team of criminal cartoon aliens. (You know you want to hear the theme song now: “Here’s your chance, do your dance at the Space Jam.”)

The best part is if you read a little further, Strother says it was a play on words. He essentially needed to figure out what he could “JAM” into all the art “SPACE” they gave him for a gallery. He also is trying to be quite meta with the whole thing, knowing and being aware of the irony in all this (most people who like Space Jam like it for just how outlandish and campy it is).

It could also just be another example of an artist trolling people (there is a lot of that lately). It’d be easy to think this if you read the press release from the gallery:

“There is also the allusion to space, from the exhibition’s name to the gradients in the paintings that reference Jordan’s limbo state in the film. The feeling of the unknown and darkness are ever present.”

That’s deep for a kid’s movie. If you want to check out the art show, it will be at the the Chelsea Marlborough through February 14th, providing that perfect Valentine’s gift for all those nineties kids out there.

H/T to Gothamist

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