Rob Hammer and Slam Magazine formed a partnership to exhibit the artist’s photography series “The Basketball Hoops Project” at the Boyd Satellite Gallery in New Orleans on February 4 through March 1, 2017. There will be a special All-Star Weekend Party on Friday, February 17 from 5-9 p.m.
The inspiration for the project came from the Larry Bird biography “Drive,” which Hammer read as a kid. Inside was a photograph of Bird’s childhood hoop — a wood backboard and rim hanging on a dilapidated old barn. That image made him think, “How could the greatest shooter of all time come from such humble beginnings?” As time went on, he noticed hundreds of other hoops just like Bird’s and wondered, “What stories do those hoops have to tell?”
Over the course of three years, Hammer traveled over 60,000 miles by car, accompanied by his husky, Mojo, to the most remote parts of America in search of abandoned basketball hoops. He soon realized that basketball is everywhere. In every urban city, every rural town of every state in the USA, basketball lives, in some form or another. While some courts have been deserted, one can’t help but wonder how many hoop dreams began with shooting, practicing, playing and staring up at every one of those rims. This dedication to the game can be felt in Hammer’s images.
This February, Slam Magazine will bring this gallery exhibition to the basketball event of the year: All-Star Weekend. “Rob Hammer’s photos are about passion—his passion for the road, his passion for basketball and the parts of the game that are hidden from the bright lights of the NBA,” said Adam Figman, editor-in-chief of SLAM. “We’re incredibly excited to be a part of this gallery opening.”
