Way cooler than your standard basketball court, these custom-designed settings and hoops turn the sport into something like an interactive art installation in which the players ‘perform’ in more ways than one. Outdoor courts are painted in vivid hues or plunked on rooftops, hoops are reinvented in stained glass or set within the crashing waves of the ocean, and court lines light up and transform.

Pigalle Basketball Court in Paris by Pigalle, Ill-Studio and NIKE

French fashion brand Pigalle teamed up with Ill-Studio and NIKE to paint a stunning sunset-hued basketball court set between two apartment buildings in Paris. Gradients of deep blue, fuchsia, pink, orange and yellow creep up the walls of the three surrounding structures and out to the sidewalk to celebrate the release of Pigalle’s latest collection with NIKElab.

Carlo Carrá Park in Alexandria, Italy by Gue

The muralist known as ‘Gue’ gave the basketball court at Carlo Carrá Park in Alexandria, Italy a bright makeover as part of an urban regeneration and redevelopment effort. “The idea was born from the possibility of being able to cross the field’s space,” says the artist, “and to stay inside the composition and change the perception of shapes through the game’s movement.”

House of Mamba Basketball Court by NIKE

Leave it to NIKE to create a totally functional basketball court that doubles as a work of modern installation art. The brand teamed up with AKQA to develop a full-sized LED court for the NIKE RISE basketball tour taking place across China, utilizing motion-tracking and reactive LED visualization to lead players through drills based on Kobe Bryant’s training. Then, in 2015, they completed ‘Rise 2.0,’ a second version of the court with LeBron James.

Rooftop Basketball Court in Venezuela by PICO Estudio

Design collective PICO estudio teamed up with local and international firms as well as volunteers and community members to transform a self-built house that was once a drug trafficking venue in Caracas, Venezuela into a valuable community space hosting a recording studio, computer area, waiting area, kitchen and an incredible rooftop basketball court retrofitted with vibrant green steel framing and chain-link fencing for safety.

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Nothin But Net 12 Slam Dunk Artistic Basketball Court Designs

Remember making hand-held flipbooks when you were a kid? Those cute little books that made primitive cartoons when you flipped through the pages quickly could amuse and entertain for hours. Recently, Argentinian street artist Hyuro brought that joyful amusement to Copenhagen on a long wall that many cars pass by every day.

In/between consists of 87 aluminum panels, each showing a piece of an animation. When seen all together from a moving car, the animation shows the short story of a deer running through a forest and then emerging. The animated mural is a classy, sophisticated piece of graffiti that the whole city gets to enjoy.

Hyuro and her helper painted the entire mural/animation by hand over the course of two weeks. Hyuro’s project was chosen in a competition held by artistic community ArtRebels, which drew submissions from artists all over the world.

Peering through a hole in the hovering white skin of an unusual installation at the 22nd International International Garden Festival of Chaumont Sur Loire, France, seems to transport the viewer into a different place altogether. What could not be more than a few square meters, judging by the outside dimensions, becomes a vast forest that seemingly continues without end. Outside-In is a ‘visual paradox’ that intends to show us how relying on our senses can limit our imagination.

Designed by Meir Lobaton Corona and Ulli Heckmann architects, the installation is a white canvas box punctured with circular windows, rendering a small planted area inaccessible. But mirrors mounted inside that box reflect the few trees that are actually contained within it. The effect is enhanced in warm seasons, when the leaves are at their lushest.

“We think that all perception is locked within our body: The sense of seeing from the eyes, the sense of hearing from the ears, the sense of smelling from the nose, the sense of tasting from the mouth, and the sense of touch primarily from the hands,” say the creators.  “Our garden, entitled ‘outside-in’, is conceived as a visual paradox, as device that enhances such conditions in order to make the audience realize how by relying only on sight we rely on imagination, that is to say, on interpretation.”

“‘Outside-in’ is a garden within a garden, a contemplative space, a small universe where landscape and architecture are fused to create an experience capable of raising questions rather than answering them, a live mechanism whose aim is to make us reflect on the contrast between what we know and what we see, demanding us to constantly negotiate the gap between physical reality and visual perception. It is a meditation on space, light, and the possibility of infinity as seen through the limitless reflections of a trapped narrative meticulously fitted inside a world of two-way mirrors.”

Wire sculptures are unique in that they can be airy representations of solid objects, or hulking and heavy metal goliaths that intimidate in an outdoor space. The range of styles utilized by wire sculptors is as incredible as the art work itself, from abstract scenes to ultra realistic portraits, they’re all here.

(Images via autoblog, hypenotice, ttsn, goawaygarage)

British artist Benedict Radcliffe created this bright orange Lamborghini in 2008 and set in different parking spots and locations for pedestrians to enjoy. The good news? It’s for sale, and will only set you back 40,000 British Pounds. This gorgeous wireframe Beetle is a comment on vehicles and the environment. It would be great if vehicles had that little environmental impact. Until that time, this wireframe Volkswagon, and the wireframe car below it, will just have to serve as interesting eye candy. The motorcycle and sidecar pictured above was a three year project by Chinese artist Shi Jindian made out of woven steel.

(Images via junk-culture, , flickriver, darkrosemanor, darkrosemanor, outsideart)

Scottish artist David Mach created these faces out of wire hangers, which just goes to show awesome art can be made out of the most mundane materials. Polly Verity made these wire sculpture heels, and showcases more work over here. Derek Kinzett created the bottom-most sculptures, doing a great job catching the fluidity of the human form. The final sculpture resided at the Outside Art exhibition, which celebrated British sculpture.

(Images via thisiscolossal, mymodernmet, riuteleebloggy, cleveland)

Artist Barbara Licha lives and works in Australia, and brings us this giant wire cube sculpture. Sculptor Gavin Worth shows that less is more with his simple sculpture of a boy with cupped hands, while this Michael Jackson bust takes a different tactic. Michael Murphy created this portrait of President Barack Obama out of high tension wire.

(Images via crookedbrains, webbyslist, squidoo)

Artist Rupert Till created this amazing horse and jockey sculpture, while previously mentioned artist David Mach upped the ante with his gigantic gorilla coat hanger creation. This large metal horse resides on the side of a highway in Glasgow, Scotland.

(Images via gavinworth, unbiasedart, unbiasedwriter)

Gavin Worth uses minimal lines to get his point across, and these beautiful wire pieces look almost like two dimensional illustrations that exist in three dimensions. He does a fantastic job conveying intense emotion without any filler.

(Images via tploy, toxel, 9bytz, thisnext, odditycentral)

This bike is another creation of chinese artist Shi Jindian. Seung Mo Park is a korean artist who creates incredibly detailed portraits out of wire. Derek Kinzett shows us the power of the human form in his life size sculpture, while this coffee man sculpture takes a more relaxed approach. Ivan Lovatt creates realistic busts out of chicken wire, and this lovely lady is a quality example.

From a distance, this structure looks like just another winding, looping roller coaster. But look a little closer and you’ll see that all is not as it appears. This roller coaster is actually a fantastical staircase: a human-scale outdoor sculpture that just begs to be walked by visitors.

(all images via: Dezeen)

The sculpture is called Tiger and Turtle – Magic Mountain. Created by Heike Mutter and Ulrich Genth, the sculpture opened to the public on November 13, 2011. It sits atop a high hill in Duisburg, Germany, offering visitors the chance to take a walk 29 meters (almost 70 feet) above the ground.

From its perch on the hill, the massive sculpture offers an exceptional view of the surrounding area and a unique pedestrian experience for those who dare to tread so far above the soil. The elaborately winding and swooping staircase has access points where it touches the ground, allowing visitors to climb on and experience the strange sensation of exploring the elevated walkway.

The carnival rides on which the sculpture is based typically draw crowds based on their thrill-inducing loops. But for the Tiger and Turtle sculpture, the central loop is a hindrance to travel rather than a thrilling part of it. The very presence of the loop makes it impossible for one to walk the entire length of the structure.

The sculpture’s rather unusual name comes from the changing perceptions one experiences while drawing nearer and nearer to the structure. At first, from a distance, it appears to be a thrill ride that zips passengers around at dizzying speeds. But upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the pace of this particular “ride” is far more relaxed.

According to the sculptors, there is another, more serious story behind the Tiger and Turtle title. It refers to the simultaneous speed and deadlock of progress in the surrounding area with regards to environmental reform. Although there is a valuable message in the sculpture, if one chooses it can still be enjoyed on a superficial level – which is what makes public art so fun.