» HADOUKEN « he's heating up
In 1993, video game developer Midway struck gold. After years of failure, they finally developed an arcade game that kickstarted an entirely new sub-genre in sports gaming, one of action-packed gameplay and exaggerated, reality bending physics. Released simultaneously with the commencement of the NBA's "Superstar Era," where an otherwise above average player could have not only his own shoe and a miniature, puppet version of himself to boot, NBA Jam sent teens and adults alike flocking to their local arcades (R.I.P.). Over 20 years later, the game has gone on to generate revenue of over $1 billion in quarters at the arcade. In quarters. At the arcade. Talk about a movement.
Perhaps even more ubiquitous than its gameplay, commercial success or three-decades long reign as pop culturally relevant is the commentary. How can you forget the surprisingly monotone, almost disappointed, "jams it in"? Or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the absurd "boom shakalaka!"? How many times have you mockingly said under your breath as one of your friends bricked it against the backboard during a pick up game, "throws it up..."? The list is endless. And while the offensive objective of the game revolves around a single player making three consecutive, uninterrupted field goals to achieve "on fire!" status (and subsequently rewarded with unlimited stamina and Godlike three point shooting abilities), it's those three words that come after the second consecutive, uninterrupted field goal that stands out to me most all these years later: "he's heating up."
Daniel Arsham is heating up.
Fresh off his critically acclaimed installation at Galerie Perrotin, Circa 2345, a stunning visual treat highlighting the fragility of human nature and ephemeral nature of time that you may have visited simply to capture a quality 'gram, visual artist and architect Daniel Arsham nailed a second consecutive, uninterrupted jumper with Rules of the Game. Collaborating with long-time friend and colleague, choreographer Jonah Bokaer, Arsham's multidisciplinary, mixed media modern dance theater reinterpretation of Luigi Pirandello's near-century old play is as fashionably relevant as it is theatrically beautiful. Performed against a powerful original score composed by the one and only Pharrell Williams, Arsham's monochromatic, nude offbeat environments are lit up by the antics of the dancers, clothed in military garments of the identical palette designed and manufactured by Stampd.
Last week, my girlfriend and I made our way uptown for an advanced performance of excerpts at the Guggenheim Theater's Works and Process series. With Bokaer in attendance, each excerpt was accompanied by in depth analysis that shed light on each of the collaborator's creative processes. Sitting there I couldn't help but think to myself: are we at the precipice of a paradigm shift marking the return of high culture? And, if so, could the broker of such a shift be Arsham? By enlisting the support of hip-hop (Pharrell), streetwear (Stampd), basketball (a theme throughout the entire play) and modern dance (Bokaer), Arsham created something more powerful than a simple reinterpretation of an old and almost forgotten play--something more enduring than a pop-up shop installation with which his name has become synonymous in recent years through his design firm Snarkitecture. In all seriousness, I thought to myself, has someone figured out a way to remove the inherent corniness found in most other "mash up" endeavors (e.g., Hamilton, Jay-Z x Linkin Park, Gucci Ghost etc.)?
You can judge for yourself next week when the performance opens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, if you are so inclined. And whatever the case, let's hope that Arsham gets back on defense, grabs a board and heads down court for his third consecutive, uninterrupted field goal this February when he showcases Hourglass at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. It's been a while since we've seen someone like this truly "on fire."