Thursday, November 25, 2004

Basketbrawl as Art

"If I was going to get beat up, I wanted to be indoors where it was warm."
Tom Heinsohn, NBA Hall of Famer


In 1937 Pablo Picasso created Guernica to shed light on the bombing in the small town of Guernica, Spain. The attacked killed an estimated 900 civilians and reduced the area to rumble. B2 of Toner Mishap discovered an outstanding parody of the famous painting at Wizznutzz. [Thanks again, BoingBoing.]



SIOUX 23, a master artist, has created one of the best depictions of the melee of the Pacers and Pistons riot in Auburn Hills, Detroit titled "Aubernica." He draws his inspiration from Picasso’s Guernica. The illustration by SIOUX 23 is most apropos as Picasso’s original, was intended to shed light on the 1937 bombing.

Not that any light needed to be shed on the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons riot in Palace at Auburn Hills, the suburban arena where the defending NBA champion Pistons play, since the media continues to show highlights (see Unrest Growing 11/22/04). By now most everyone is familiar with the brawl that involved players and fans, a flying chair and enough spilling of beer to extinguish one of California’s many brush fires.

Picasso’s composition with the truncated bodies and superimposed images in the Cubist style took the art world by storm. The famous painting shows a fleeing woman who is desperately trying to flee the bombing, her body twisted and arms hanging uselessly. The parody replaces the fleeing woman with fleeing fan. A flying chair replaces Picasso’s light; a wounded horse is now wearing an Indiana Pacers jersey; a figure with a lamp is transformed into a fist slugging the horse in the jersey.

The Misanthrope believes this work of art should be hanging in the National Basketball Association’s Hall of Fame.

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