A highlight for all involved at 2018 All-Star Weekend was Nike’s Makers Space where average Joes like myself were able to paint up and piece together their own custom 90/10 creations.
But what happens when you give an actual artist access to those assets and tools?
Philly product turned LA transplant Gianni Lee shows us exactly that. The visual artist took to the Air Force 1 silo with inspiration from a Hindu deity. Here how it came together in his own words:
“I’m really all about the EYEs in my paintings,” says Gianni. “But I know I needed to create a world to pull from and that’s how the blue people were born. The blue hands actually have no connection Hinduism at all. I just really enjoy the color blue and how vibrant or dull it can be. I wanted to paint black and brown people blue. After further research in Hinduism I saw the similarities in Shiva and the blue humanoids I create. We are all related anyway so I could have been inspired subconsciously and this was that release. I was excited when Nike reached out to me and gifted me a pair during All Star Weekend, and told me to have fun with them. I never painted on sneakers before but I enjoy this particular exercise in art and commercialism. I believe it makes me a better artist to be able find out ways to make my art ‘sellable’ and almost simplistic in the realm of footwear. What is too much? What is too little? What themes can I pull from? While it’s a fine line I’m walking when dealing with fine art and consumerism, I am all for the juxtaposition.”
So, what’s next? “This is one of the many crossroads where fashion meets art, it’s a narrative that needs to be explored more,” reflects Gianni. “I’m just another lab coat with a beaker in my hand. The next goal should be to paint 100 people blue.”
We’ll be on the watch for that. Until then, peep photos of Gianni’s Air Force 1 in the shots by Crystina Bond below.
