Local artist William LaChance recently finished his larger-than-life mural on Kinloch Park’s basketball courts for the nonprofit organization, Project Backboard. Daniel Peterson, the founder of the organization, started repainting lines and patching up holes on basketball courts in his hometown of Memphis, then began partnering with artists, turning newly repaired courts into works of art. (LaChance’s mural design was recently featured in Architectural Digest as one of its “10 Best Designed Basketball Courts in the World.”)
“The whole concept really struck a chord with me, given the location and the meaning behind his whole mission,” LaChance says. “His heart is really in it, and it was such a privilege working with him. He did it just to help the community.”
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LaChance’s abstract mural, “Garden,” is a custom design for Kinloch’s courts. “I came up with a design specific to the area, even though it was an abstract painting,” LaChance says. “The color patches were intentionally left very large and uninterrupted, so later on when the painting was finished, they would function like a stage set, with the people completing the composition.” In other words, he created it to include the players into the narrative of the piece; the mural is ever-changing as people go on and off the courts.
As the title hints, the piece was also inspired by the beauty and simplicity of a garden, “something you’re conditioned to look at and just enjoy. There’s no psychological expectation, as there is with a pictorial image. If there’s people in [a painting] for example, you automatically start wondering what the story was, who the people are.”
The mural is filled with big patches of vivid reds, yellows, browns, and greens. He says that the color choice was intentional as well. “They’re chosen with the anticipation of people eventually populating the court … I imagined people using the court with brightly colored athletic clothing, so lots of vivid reds and blues,” he says. “Another reason for the choice of colors was the context of Kinloch. Most of the town is abandoned and returning to nature, so there’s that overall monotonous coloration. I really wanted to make something bright and positive.”
He adds that it is important to make fine art accessible to all by placing it into the pattern of everyday life. With the basketball court mural, he says, there “wasn’t a barrier of ‘this is the moment you’re looking at artwork.’ It was kind of a hidden delivery mechanism.”
The mural, he says, is about appreciating art by just experiencing it. “Don’t try to extrapolate the meaning, because the artist when they painted or sculpted it, they didn’t have a meaning. They were working intuitively and the enjoyment of the art is an intuitive process too,” he says, adding that, again, there is rarely an expectation when looking at a garden; it simply exists to be beautiful. Art is simply about enjoying the experience or the emotions a piece gives you, which is what happened when the mural was unveiled.
“The reaction was so positive, and everyone was expressing with their love of the design. People made different associations, a couple people said that felt like they were in a Spike Lee movie set which was a huge compliment,” LaChance says. “Everybody began naturally began thinking aesthetically, but not in a highbrow way—just ways they’re familiar with.”
For more information about Project Backboard, visit their website at projectbackboard.org. For more informaiton on William LaChance’s work, go to williamlachance.tumblr.com.
