Next week, basketball hero Grant Hill is returning to campus. But this time around, he will likely be spending more time in the Nasher Museum of Art than in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Hill will be here for the opening of "Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art." recess arts editor Lexi Richards recently had the chance to talk to Hill about his passion for art, basketball and Duke.
recess: What was the first piece you bought for the collection? How did you get started?
Grant Hill: Well, the first piece I ever bought was back when I was a student at Duke. It's not actually part of this collection, but it's the first piece of art that I ever purchased. It was at the old South Square mall, which I don't think exists anymore. They had an art gallery in there. It was a print called Duke Fast Break done by a local African American artist named Ernie Barnes who is actually pretty well known-he's still alive. His claim to fame is he did the picture for the television show Good Times. And you know, honestly, for this particular collection I can't recall the first piece. I've purchased a lot after that point. There is a piece called Confrontation that was given to me by my father, a piece that he had in our home growing up.
Do you have a favorite piece in the collection?
No, not really. I think they all are very important and in some way or another [they all] mean something to me. I only have one child, so I would assume if you had more than one child it would be like picking who is your favorite child. They all mean something, and they are all important.
How does it feel to be coming back to Duke for something totally unrelated to basketball?
It's always fun coming back to Duke. Duke has been a wonderful experience for me and for my family.
To be able to be in a position where I can have my collection on display at Duke at the new Nasher Museum is right up there with some of the other wonderful experiences I had while I was at Duke. I'm excited, and I'm looking forward to getting it kicked off. Hopefully other people will be as well. I know it will be during March Madness, so that will be kind of tough, but hopefully people will still go.
Well, people can find time to go to Nasher in between games.
(laughs) There you go.
The collection has been on tour since 2003, traveling all over the country. What is going to happen?
Good question. Maybe we will lend "Something All Our Own" to the museum for a year or so. We need to just figure out what to do next. I'd like to have some of the pieces in my home and in my office, and to enjoy them myself for a little while, and to be a little selfish in that regard.
Your main interest is in collecting work done by African American artists. Do you feel that African American art is underrated in the art world? Does that have anything to do with why you collect?
That's not the reason why. I think the genre is somewhat under-appreciated. I think for me, it's that I was a history major, and I really enjoyed studying African American history. Recently I've looked at when I started collecting as sort of an extension of what I learned in school and what was fascinating for me while I was in school. [Art] is history in the eyes of the artist.
How do you find pieces that appeal to you?
I look at a lot of art. It's as simple as what stands out. I've turned down more than I've been able to purchase. I've been fortunate because I have the means to be able to purchase this collection together, but... I'm not looking for certain artists.
I know you work with a curator, Alvia Wardlaw. What is that process like? Do you come up with a vision and find what you like, and then she helps you acquire it? Does she suggest art and artists to you?
Dr. Wardlaw was in the same graduating class at Wellesley as my mother. I like to say she's known my mother longer than I have. The collection was already put together and these pieces were already in my possession when we got together. Then, we thought of her as the ideal person in terms of curating this particular tour. I since have taken advantage of her knowledge and expertise and asked for her opinions and consulted with her on some purchases.
For your personal collection, what other types of art or themes do you look for?
Right now I'm still looking for the African American masters. I'm still relatively young, so I look forward to seeing where this takes me. I look forward to developing and collecting art and styles from other genres. But it will be interesting to see where it goes. At this point I have no idea.
Do you know of any other NBA players that have unexpected hobbies?
Wow. I know Chris Webber actually collects African American artifacts. I know he has a variety of different things. There are players that are art collectors, as well-Elliot Perry, Ray Allen. The interesting thing is that a lot of players actually have hobbies that are considered outside of the box for professional athletes and unfortunately a lot of those guys do not get the attention for it. And I think sometimes guys are a little scared to share that. Hopefully this experience will make it cool.
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