1 on 1 with Artist PARlaiTin

There are so many forms of expression in art and sneakers. It is a beautiful thing when those two worlds collide, as is the case with wire sculpture artist, pARlaiTin. Using a medium rarely employed in art, he has found a niche in the art world that he plans to expand on in the near future. We had the chance to chat with the budding artist to get an idea of how it all started, and where he plans to take it. Check out what pARlaiTin had to say about his wire sculptures.

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pARlaiTin showcasing his Reebok Pump wire sculpture

Nice Kicks: Introduce yourself to the world. Who is pARlaiTin?

Parlaitin: My name is Curtis Anthony. I grew up in Louisville, KY, and I?m still here. My parents allowed me to travel with them, so I saw certain things. I?ve traveled to different places, and I really appreciated high end things. Of course, I couldn?t afford those things but could see quality. To this day, my eye can see quality in everything.

I go by the name pARlaiTin (pronounced par-LAY-in). I selected it during the first social media type thing, the first AOL. From my experiences talking to other people and being social, I understood it to mean ?cool and laid back?. I describe myself in the same way. So, I wanted to choose a (screen) name that didn?t require numbers behind it. I spelled it in a slang-type way – kind of how I would say it. Recently, I found out the correct spelling and meaning of the word. Parlaying means to transform absolutely nothing into something great, and that?s exactly what I?m trying to do.

Nice Kicks: Do you have a design background?

Parlaitin: I don?t. I never thought that I could really amount to anything as far as an artist, designer, or anything like that. At one point, I wanted to be an architect. My major in school was electrical engineering. I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I loved Legos?, puzzles and video games.

Nice Kicks: Is your passion for building things and putting this together the motivation behind your sculptures?

Parlaitin: Exactly. That inspiration and art class when I was in middle school was my loves and my passions. Then, all of a sudden, you have Michael Jordan and his influence on design and art. He was the first person to really get the concept down of being cool and mean it. He not only talked about it, he walked it. As I grew older, the design of shoes was really a staple for me; that and appreciating quality. It was also the colors. Legos? came in color. Sneakers are colorful. Video games come in color. All the color coordination came together perfectly for me.

Nice Kicks: What are your sculptures composed of?

Parlaitin: They are made out of wire only. I mean, who cares about wire? It?s parlaying. I?m trying to parlay this wire – which is of no value to anybody – into something that?s great. So, I only use wire. My idea has been to use wire for the entire shoe – including the sole – but keep the (original) laces.
Close-up of the Reebok Pump wire sculpture