Unmissable event this summer in Marseille on the most fascinating rooftop of the Riviera, at MAMO created by Ora Ito, the Cité radieuse art center, which presents “Le Modulor du basketball” by the New York artist Daniel Arsham.

Every summer since its creation in 2013 by the visionary designer and architect Ora Ito on the roof of Le Corbusier's Unit&eacute; d'Habitation in Marseille, MAMO offers a major artist the opportunity to confront this iconic building by creating a specific installation . Each exhibition, designed in situ, is thus unique and offers a renewed and unique point of view of the site. Summit meeting with the artist of the future <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/art/exhibition-anniversary-20-years-of-daniel-arsham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Arsham</a>.
L'OFFICIEL: Your exhibition which starts this week is entitled &ldquo;The Modulor of basketball&rdquo; at MAMO. Can you describe your works?
DANIEL ARSHAM: The exhibition takes place at the Cit&eacute; radieuse designed by Le Corbusier, which is a residential building on the roof of which is the MAMO Art Center, originally a gymnasium for the building's residents. I set up a sort of basketball court incorporating all the influences and design that inspired Le Corbusier. He had an obsession with the sun, its passage over the building. I found an original drawing that I turned into a printed basketball court graphic. I also added a basketball hoop inspired by Le Corbusier's Open Hand, installed in Chandigarh, the city he designed in India. I also reinterpreted the Modulor, his modular man which is a straight cast engraved on the exterior of the building. Modular Man was a proportional diagram intended to understand the human form in relation to architecture. And I noticed that this image looked a lot like Michael Jordan, so I kind of combined the two. I also reinterpreted the LC2 and LC4 chairs, which I transformed into basketball stands.
L'O: This is not your first work around basketball, can you explain to us your passion for this sport, the game and the object?
DA: Basketball is a big part of my work. I am currently the creative director of the Cleveland Cavaliers and also the owner of my hometown team. And, you know, I love basketball in general, I think it's one of the most interesting and entertaining American sports. It also affects many different cultures in the United States and around the world. It's something that everyone feels.

L'O: You love architecture, you also co-direct an architectural office called Snarkitecture. Can you tell us a little more about this tribute to the great architect Le Corbusier?
DA: Le Corbusier, I studied him a lot at school. He was an architect who had a very keen eye for materials and who was revolutionary in his use of concrete and color, and he was also an artist. Most of the time, when I do exhibitions, it's in an empty space like a museum, without context, but here, the Art Center is in a space that is very specific and it's fantastic to be able to play with it. !
L&rsquo;O: The installation is ambitious, you used huge cranes to mount large bronze sculptures on the roof, ancient and contemporary sculptures flying in the sky of Marseille&hellip;
DA: Yes, that's the other part of the exhibition, these large bronzes with a Tiffany green patina with polished crystals, they belong to two different eras, one contemporary and the other ancient. One is a DMC DeLorean, from the movie Back to the Future, and the other two are 19th century Venuses sculpted by Antonio Canova that I remade oversized and to scale. The roof of this building is made of concrete, very austere, so you have the blue of the sky, the gray of the concrete, and this

<blockquote>“LE CORBUSIER, I studied a lot at school. He was an architect who HAD A VERY SHARP SENSE OF MATERIALS and who was REVOLUTIONARY in his use of CONCRETE AND COLOR.”</blockquote>

L'O: You have recently collaborated with many luxury brands from the LVMH group, Rimowa, Dior and Tiffany &amp; Co. Haute couture or jewelry and basketball: how did you find a connection between these worlds?
DA: I have worked with many different brands, Dior in particular, with Kim Jones. We created a basketball for the Spring/Summer 2020 show. It was an eroded crystal Dior basketball, following the concept of my fictional archeology which reimagines contemporary objects as if they were found in the future .
L'O: You have always used the colour turquoise, close to Tiffany Blue. Was it an immediate connection with Tiffany &amp; Co?
DA: The most recent project I did with Tiffany was a bracelet, the knot bracelet that was housed in a Tiffany box but which I recast in bronze. And the patina that I use on it, ironically, is called Tiffany patina. So there was a link between the two.
L'O: In the exhibition, we see banners, a flag, a sports outfit, do you like working with textiles?
DA: The exhibition banners reference those you might find in a high school gymnasium. But I modified them, I put images that vaguely recall Le Corbusier's Le Modulor, and the names of championships were replaced by the different locations of the Housing Unit and the years of their construction.
L'O: You have just launched your own brand, Objects IV Life. A cutting-edge collection in the style of artist looks, with the pitch &ldquo;a wardrobe of uniforms for a creative art of living&rdquo;. In particular, there is a version of the &ldquo;blue work&rdquo; jacket and a pair of steel-toed shoes.
DA: Objects IV Life is a new brand that I launched recently. I've done a lot of work with fashion, and a lot of my friends work in that industry. It was a great experience for me to reinterpret the materials. Many of the fabrics we use are unsold, so things that already existed. Everything is made from recycled materials. The boots we made have a steel toe cap that is not treated, so it will rust over time.

<blockquote>“I LIKE THE IDEA THAT the medium IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN THE CONCEPT, and that we can work in ARCHITECTURE, ART, FASHION, PHOTOGRAPHY, automotive design or FURNITURE. IT’S A WAY TO REACH different audiences.”</blockquote>

L'O: To create your brand, you partnered with Tomorrow and fashion genius Stefano Martinetto. How did this collaboration come about?
DA: Stefano Martinetto, I met him through Samuel Ross, who introduced us. Stefano worked for Helmut Lang and Raf Simons and he was very enthusiastic about this project, the fact that a brand could be created through my vision of clothing design. He had the production capabilities, the right partners, and he was ready to take an extra step with me to discover how to make my clothes and objects.
L'O: You are both a successful academic artist, but also a creative powerhouse representing today's popular culture. Which artist would you identify with?
DA: Which peers would I identify with&hellip;Samuel Ross comes to mind. And also, certainly, my good friend, who passed away last year, Virgil Abloh, who was a source of inspiration, we worked together on many projects. He has often written about my work and even wrote the introduction to my latest beautiful book, published by Rizzoli. I like the idea that the medium is less important than the concept, and that we can work in architecture, art, photography, fashion, automotive design or furniture. It&rsquo;s a way to reach different audiences.
L'O: Summer is here. What are your projects ?
DA: I will be traveling between Europe and the United States. Obviously I will come back to see my exhibition in Marseille. In May I was in Monaco for the Grand Prix where I collaborated with Lewis Hamilton on the design of his racing helmet. This summer I will go to Mykonos for an exhibition at the Simple Gallery, and there will also be a collection of objects there. And then I will be in Saint-Barth, at the Eden Roc.

Daniel Arsham “The Modulor of basketball”, exhibition until September 25, 2022 MAMO Center d&#39;art de la Cité radieuse Unité d&#39;Habitation Le Corbusier 280, boulevard Michelet 13008 Marseille. Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. <a href="https://mamo.fr/">Mamo.fr</a> @marseillemodulor #MarseilleModulor <a href="https://www.danielarsham.com/">Danielarsham.com</a> @danielarsham -- Interview PHILIPPE COMBRES Photos JAMES LAW

Not to be missed: “The Basketball Modulor” by Daniel Arsham, at MAMO

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