Becoming an NFL first-round pick is the ultimate form of success for any aspiring football player. But while football allowed Aaron Maybin to showcase his skills on the field, he wanted to use his art to convey a bigger message off the field.
Drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Bills in 2009, Maybin decided to pursue his love for art full-time after being cut and missing the 2013 season. He recently teamed up with fellow Baltimore artist Mike Ragland to host a gallery at Art Basel in Miami.
How did you get involved with art?
It started when I was young. I would make things with tin foil as a kid and I often got in trouble for doing graffiti; it’s always been in me. I did my first major commissioned piece with the state of Maryland when I was 11. I was an art major in college and continued to do it while I was in the NFL. Regardless of what was going on with life, I always saw myself as an artist.
Why was it important for you to have a showcase at Art Basel?
I was in the NFL for the last five years so I didn’t have the opportunity to come down to Art Basel before this year. But I’ve always wanted to be here. This year is the first year I actually had the balls to go out there and do art full time. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I didn’t know I would have the opportunity to display my work. This is our second show. Sometimes it takes artists years to reach that kind of status.
Do you think the younger generation is starting to appreciate art more?
I think with the kind of exposure and transition that’s taking place socially, the art scene is like the new rock scene. Everyone wants to be with the hot artists. I think we’re getting back to the ’70s and ’80s when you had prominent artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, who were the influential, in artists on the social scene. We don’t care about being the most recognized or the most renowned, but we want to be the most influential.
