Dear Adam Silver

Brian Tran, my first guest ever on the podcast, is back to help me discuss my inclusion of iconic words by Charles Barkley in the opening credits of every Dear Adam Silver episode.

Brian is a writer and a dedicated basketball and baseball fan. He is based in St. Louis, MO where he is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis. 

This episode was produced and edited by Eliseo Casiano. 

Brandon Donahue is a multi-media artist based in College Park, MD and the current artist-in-residence at the David C. Driscell Center. Brandon's "blooms" or assemblages using found basketballs and footballs is the work that initially drew me in, especially in relation to my own work with basketball nets. But throughout our interview it was clear that Brandon't first art related loves- airbrushing and painting murals- are where his career as an artist began when he very young and both are still processes he uses regularly. He is a collector who uses the objects he lives, plays and works around to create alternative understandings of purpose. The "blooms", and finding various definitions for the spaces and objects associated with sports, are just recent iterations of work he has been developing through different mediums for years.

His works spans the space of existing both inside and outside and the studio and engagement with his surrounding community is a common theme. His practice is transformational, rethinking the objects we see and use everyday. 

You can see more of Brandon's work at https://brandonjaquezdonahue.com/home.html

You can read more about his work here: https://nashvillearts.com/2016/12/art-basketball-alchemy-brandon-donahue/

Noah Cohan is a Lecturer of American Culture at Washington University in St. Louis. His book, published earlier this year, entitled We Average Unbeautiful Watchers, is a critical unpacking of sports fandom in relation to larger societal issues. Noah engages this subject as a fan himself and rethinks ways that fans and spectators can have a healthier, more productive relationship with both sports and players. 

A couple of the books that Noah mentions on the podcast and references in his book directly that I can also recommend:

If you are a person who cares about sports and their evolvement, We Average Unbeautiful Watchers is an alternative perspective that highlights our social responsibility as spectators. I definitely recommend picking up a copy of the book at the local bookstore of your choice! 

This episode was recorded in Tucson, AZ  and edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano. 

Bradley Robert Ward is a multi-media artist based in Houston, TX.  Ward's work touches on his relationship with the basketball players that have impacted him the most and the culture around the game, both from present time and the past few decades. He uses the techniques of image transfer and collage to recreate iconic imagery with his own hand,  in a way that forces the viewer to redefine where basketball, as an art form, belongs.

His work can be found at www.bradleyrobertward.com. 

As always, please rate and review this episode! 

This episode was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano. 

Jeremy John Kaplan is a Brooklyn based artist and longtime fan and player of the game of basketball. His Gold Nets Project, where he hangs gold spray painted basketball nets on hoops that are without or have unusable nets, has spread far and wide, starting in Philadelphia, moving to New York City, along the US-Mexico border and in other countries. He sees the gesture of hanging the net as a way of giving back to the game of basketball, a game that has given him incredible experiences and joy since he was a child. This Gold Nets project, spanning the boundaries of art and sports, was recently featured in both Hyper Allergic and SLAM Magazine (see links below for both of those pieces).

Jeremy and I share a lot in common; a love for basketball in combination with a love for cyanotypes (say what?!), a desire to engage with communities through our art, and keeping "net change kits" on hand as much as possible. The opportunity to speak about the similarities (and differences) of our processes felt good! And I believe it will benefit us both as we continue on.

To see Jeremy's work click https://www.goldnetsproject.com.

Read about his work here: https://www.slamonline.com/the-magazine/gold-nets-project/

And here: https://hyperallergic.com/525352/an-artist-is-installing-hundreds-of-golden-nets-on-community-basketball-courts/

Follow him on Instagram @jeremyjohnkaplan and @goldnetsproject

And for the love of all things ball/ art related, please rate and review this (d*mn) podcast. Thank you!!

This podcast was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano. 

This is part 2/2 with Abdi Farah (www.abdifarah.com) on the pod to discuss the beginning of the NBA season. Intro bonus, I read the letter I received from Bill of NBA Fan Relations, in response to the artwork I sent to Adam Silver earlier this year! 

Thanks for listening! And please don't forget to rate and review the podcast. Every bit helps. 

This episode was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano (www.eliseocasiano.com)

New Orleans based artist Abdi Farah is back on the pod! Last time we spoke I was extremely worried about the Warriors losing in the finals.....a lot has happened since then.  We catch up on recent happenings in our artwork and also continue to unpack the China-NBA controversy and how it might have been handle differently. 

Our discussion will be released in two parts, with our analysis of the first two weeks of the NBA coming out later this week. 

You can see more of Abdi's work at http://www.abdifarah.com

This podcast was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano.