Daniel Arsham: Le Modulor du Basketball

Within the historic cité d’Habitation artist Daniel Arsham pays homage to Le Corbusier in both style and design, blending themes of sport and history and returning the space to its original function as a gymnasium. Iconic imagery from the building is reimagined by Arsham within the playful context of a basketball court. Iconic figures and pop-culture objects are presented in a state of seeming geological erosion; compounding what is ancient, modern, or from a potential future.

The entire presentation incorporates reds, yellows and blues found in Corbusier’s “Le Poème de L’angle Droit” (1955). Le Corbusier’s sun graphic is transformed to a basketball with rays which form the three-point line of the court floor. The iconic Modular Man found on the exterior of the building is altered here to hold a basketball. Arsham’s signature erosion technique is applied to basketball racks the design of which nods to Corbusier’s iconic lounge chairs and a basketball hoop inspired by Corbusier’s Open Hand symbol.