The Strangest Comfort

What's your interpretation of the photo above?

A pair of retro Air Jordans meshed into an obscure foreign object or an intriguing mosaic piecing together the fabric of mainstream urban culture? Either you're the twenty-something die hard Jordan fanatic, or you know someone with an immaculate collection.

For bragging rights, every now and then you [or them] will carefully pull out your most prized possessions and marvel at the vast empire you've earnestly built since boyhood.

Hardly worn [if ever] and preserved in the original shoe box, these made your heart melt before it fluttered for any girl.

Ironically, that same delicate treatment is being shown right now at the National Museum of the American Indian, where Indian artist Brian Jungen's Air Jordan sculpture is showcased at his newest exhibit.
Rightfully so, the Air Jordan mask is displayed behind premium plexiglass and theatrical spotlighting ― the same treatment given to any sacred artifact at a museum.

Those aren't just any sneakers though, but the most prized of them all. The ones that cause stampedes at local malls whenever a new model debuts. The ones that single-handedly transformed the fashion of athletic shoe design when the line launched in 1985.

Yes, the ones that the G.O.A.T Michael Jordan himself wore when he was fined $5,000 per game for playing ball in his own shoes ― which were banned from the NBA's footwear policy.

Surprisingly, Jungen merges popular culture and art with his latest masterpiece, showing that "Indian-ness" exceeds the skewed perception of head beads and cultural carvings.

His unconventional approach to contemporary artwork will make you rethink what the actual object really is and ponder any underlying meaning behind what it could be.
From high-end shoes to sports jerseys, golf bags and plastic chairs, Jungen uses everyday objects laying around the house to disband stereotypes of Indian art on a regular basis.

It's the strangest comfort to know that those red, black and white Jordans can no longer be worn as shoes, but more so as a cultural mask.

And how the deconstruction of the well-designed shoe can make you ponder its global impact on popular culture.
Or maybe it's just me, I guess I find comfort in the strangest things.

Visit Brian Jungen's exhibit, "Strange Comfort" from October 16, 2009–August 8, 2010 at the National Museum of American Indian on the National Mall, Washington, DC