Dear Adam Silver Podcast
Dear Adam Silver is a podcast hosted by Abigail Smithson. The show is an artist's take on sports; an ongoing verbal letter to the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, the podcast is meant to create a place for sports and art to exist and be considered alongside one another. The practices of athletes and artists are both rooted in the desire to make a mark, where technical skill, originality and building on the past are crucial to the success of each. Through representation and analysis, sports and fine art also have the power to translate and help us reconsider the largest issues we face as a society. On each episode, I will be discovering and discussing the many connections between the two alongside artists, athletes, journalists, commentators, critics and fans.
Glauco Adorno
Brazilian based curator Glauco Adorno joins the show to discuss our experiences as artists-in-residence at Kaunas Photography Gallery in Kaunas, Lithuania earlier this year. Glauco and I make up a two person art collective called No Look Pass where we engage in researched based projects involving sports, political identity and the body. Our time spent in Kaunas, researching and making work about the story of Senda Berenson, an early women's basketball pioneer born in what is now the village of Butrimonys, was the first major work we undertook together. As a someone who is not a fan of basketball, Glauco's perspective on our work and time spent in Lithuania is unique and incredibly important.
From making cyanotypes in the village square to sitting court side at professional games, we did it all.
Glauco's work and writing can be seen at https://www.glaucoadorno.com and read more about No Look Pass at https://www.glaucoadorno.com/nolookpass/about.
Brian Tran
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.
Brandon Donahue
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
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: The Heritage by Howard Bryant Hoop Roots by John Edgar Wideman Best Seat in the House by Spike Lee
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
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
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.
Joele Newman, Jenn Arens and Amy Silver
On the corner of Main and Schiller in Over-the-Rhine, a neighborhood in downtown Cincinnati, there are two public basketball courts and a garden; located across the street from an elementary school, this is a spot for neighborhood kids and adults to play basketball, work in the garden, or just hang out. Since 2015, outside developers have been interested in buying this property from the city and their intentions and plans for the land do not put the needs or desires of the community first. Over-the-Rhine has faced rapid gentrification since the beginning of the 2000s with many longtime residents being pushed out as the cost of living has gone up. Keep Our Courts is an ongoing community(and kid!!)driven campaign developed to save the basketball courts and garden; the movement creates a space for the voice of local residents in the dialogue about what happens in their own neighborhood. During my time as an artist-in-residence at Wave Pool Gallery in Cincinnati, I had the chance to sit down with Joele Newman, Jenn Arens and Amy Silver at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center, which is the meeting place and center point for the Keep Our Courts campaign. While Keep Our Courts is one of many battles being fought to preserve the integrity and affordability of the area, I was immediately drawn into this story because my belief that basketball is more than a game. Joele, Jenn and Amy also encourage everyone who is listening to pay attention to any issues of injustice arising from gentrification in their own neighborhood and city. For more information about the Keep Our Courts campaign, visit the link below: http://peasleecenter.org/keep-our-courts/ This episode was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano.
Abdi Farah
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.
Coleman Collins
Coleman Collins is an artist and former professional basketball player. He played in college at Virginia Tech University and has since played for teams both at home in the States and abroad, with squads in Germany, France and the Ukraine, winning championships in Bosnia and Bahrain. He received his masters of fine art from UCLA and just completed the studio arts Independent Studies Program at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York City. His writings have been published by ESPN and Huffington Post. A huge thank you to Coleman for coming on the podcast and giving some true insight on his experience as an athlete and artist. This episode was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano.
Breanne Trammell
Breanne Trammell is a multi-media artist often making work in response to pop-culture icons, including sports figures. We had the chance to discuss her practice and some specific pieces during my time as an artist-in-residence at Wave Pool Gallery in Cincinnati.
Please check out more of Breanne's work at breanne.info and follow her on Instagram @breanne_
Bill Bamberger
Bill Bamberger is a fine art and documentary photographer based in Durham, NC. While visiting Washington DC earlier this year, I saw an exhibition of Bill's work at the National Building Museum entitled HOOPS; this work included photographs of basketball hoops from all over the world. Our conversation spans the idea behind the work overall as well as specific stories of his time searching for hoops.
More information about the museum and the work can be viewed here:
More information about Bill and his other bodies of work can be seen here:
Tema Smith
Tema is a Toronto based freelance writer and Director of Community Engagement at Holy Blossom Temple. Recently, she wrote an article for the Jewish Daily Forward entitled "Are Jews White? American History Says It's Complicated." This piece takes a deep dive into the term "passing" and how it has been used and misused historically. Although this conversation does not touch directly on sports, dissecting the language that we use to describe our bodies, as well as the bodies of other people, is crucial to breaking down stereotypes and misrepresentation. Thank you so much to Tema for coming on the pod and sharing her thoughts. You can read the article we discuss by clicking the link below. You can also follow Tema on twitter @Temasmith and check out her website at www.temasmith.com. https://forward.com/opinion/417274/are-jews-white-american-history-says-its-complicated/ This episode was edited and produced by Eliseo Casiano.
Abdi Farah
Abdi Farah is a New Orleans based artist and educator. We had the chance to talk about the upcoming NBA playoffs, his deep love for Allen Iverson, and his practice rooted in the appreciation and critique of the culture surrounding football.
Ronny Quevedo
Ronny Quevedo is a visual artist based in The Bronx. His work offers us a non-traditional approach to the spaces where sports are played while alluding to pre-colonial Latin American symbolism in much of his mark making. Through his work, basketball courts become both celebratory and spiritual, soccer balls are brought into question as a tool of oppression and the audience is called upon to rethink the rules and confines that exist in sports and ultimately, the rest of our culture.
Quevedo's work can be seen at www.ronnyquevedo.info
Seph Rodney's review of Quevedo's piece "no hay media tiempo" can be read in full at hyperallergic.com/392117/a-vision-…the-melting-pot/
Dana Bassett
Dana Bassett is a Chicago based curator. She is a host and producer of Bad at Sports, a contemporary art podcast that focuses on artists and exhibitions in the Midwest region.
Seph Rodney
Seph Rodney, PhD, is an art and culture critic based in New York City. He is a staff writer and editor for Hyper Allergic and is also a member of the faculty at Parsons School of Design.More information about Seph can be found on his website: sephrodney.com.His writing can be found on Hyper Allergic: hyperallergic.com/author/seph-rodney/. He is also one of the hosts of the The American Age podcast. Make sure to listen and subscribe: theamericanage.org/podcast/
Carrie Ann Welsh
Carrie Ann Welsh is a writer for ESPNW. She approaches the game of baseball through the lens of a poet, searching for meaning beyond physical boundaries. We discussed what formed her sense of the game as well as our own perception of athletes playing at the highest levels.
You can read Carrie's essays on baseball by clicking on the following links:
www.espn.com/espnw/culture/arti…etry-bring-us-home
Glauco Adorno
Glauco Adorno(a dear friend of mine) is an art historian and curator based in New Orleans, LA. For this episode we adjusted our original topic of tennis to discuss the recent shootings at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA and Kroger's in Jeffersontown, KY. We discuss these two horrific events through the lens of artists and focus on fear around the body, racism, religion and empathy.
R. Eric McMaster
R. Eric McMaster is an artist making work about the most physically practiced and trained people: athletes. Through his practice he disrupts their normal routine. We also speak about his work that uses sports to highlight our social hierarchy and the use and control of the body. Eric’s work can be viewed at http://rericmcmaster.com
Brian Tran
Brian Tran, writer, die hard Dodgers and Lakers fan and MFA candidate at Washington University in St. Louis, joins the first episode of Dear Adam Silver to discuss why we both love basketball, critique and analyze some of our favorite(and most famous)players and begin to break down our relationships with representation of athletes.