| Artist | Los Carpinteros |
|---|---|
| Year | 2010 |
| Dimensions | 550 cm × 1,680 cm × 3,030 cm (215 in × 663 in × 1191 in) |
| Location | Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis |
| Owner | Indianapolis Museum of Art |
Free Basket is a public artwork by the Cuban artist group Los Carpinteros, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. 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.[1] Two of the arches terminate with their own regulation size basketball hoop, netting, and backboard.
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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.[2] 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.
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.[3]
This artwork was installed at the IMA in May 2010.[4]
Free Basket has been acquired by the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
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.[5] 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.
In general, the artwork requires regular cleaning of both the steel and court components to discourage the buildup of damaging materials.[6] Instrumental analysis involving the artwork's color and gloss levels has also been recorded.[7]
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