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Primary Colours presents: Installation Nation

Artists will submit a proposal to create an installation piece within the confines of a 40-foot metal shipping container. From the submitted proposals, Primary Colours will select ten projects and give artists each $500 to create their vision.

Artists may conceive and develop a piece free from any thematic or creative restrictions, and multiple artists may collaborate on a piece. The dimensions allotted for each piece are width: 8 feet, depth: 20 feet, height: 8 feet. Electricity will be available to power each selected installation piece. Selected artists must be available to set their installation up in Indianapolis during the week of the event, beginning Monday, June1, 2009.

Pieces will highlight Installation Nation, a weekend exhibition taking place on Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, 2009. The event will also feature music, food, and drink.

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Tonight

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The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good
I had been looking forward to the Indy Culture Matters Rally for a couple weeks and was quite impressed with the turn out. I would hate to have hazard a guess myself on the attendance, but apparently the IMPD estimated the turn out in the neighborhood of 2000 people. Much higher than some of the radio stations I heard tell say a couple hundred. I had the opportunity to see a great number of people I don't often have a chance to chat with which has nice and a great variety of local arts organizations made there presence known. The Indy Culture Matters Rally t-shirts could be seen bespeckling the crowd. It appeared that all of the television stations made it out filming the event and interviewing a number of people. All of this is good as it gets the name of these assorted arts organizations out to a larger audience and helps us build the awareness of the arts and how it matters to Indy's future and growth. Optimism was certainly in the air.

The Bad
I am not sure what I expected at the Rally exactly, perhaps some rebel rousing, a feel that we are sick and tired of being side lined. But this element did not quite rear its head. Instead, it felt much more like a pep rally. While most of the event had some good points, I would be remiss if I did not bring up one point in particular, the Mayor. Am I the only one who was surprised he was there to speak on behalf of the arts? I was thinking to myself, "you got to be f**king kidding me". After all he is, in my mind, one of the key reasons the arts are being side lined and all arts funding is being cut. The sheer number of cheers and people clapping when the Mayor was introduced was a bit surprising to me as well (am I just a cynic), I didn't hear a single boo or any sort of heckling. Perhaps we are just too kind to do such a thing, but for a rally put together in what I thought was the spirit of activism, it sort of ran aground. The Mayor did mention a number of the bullet points we all use to defend the need to continue to fund the arts and discussed how the arts are important to the long term growth of Indianapolis but he failed (or rather cleverly) to mention his planned cuts to all arts funding. He left us with his final thoughts to all the arts organizations (I may be paraphrasing here) "Continue to do what you do". Well, thanks.


The Ugly
So, what was ugly? The weather. Yes... It was quite cold which may have had an impact on the turn out as I did not see some people I expected to see. I know once I set foot outside I was briefly tempted to not head out but this event was necessary. It was completely overcast but I at least the rain held out. A good thing as I forgot to bring an umbrella.

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Come rain of shine, don't forget the Indy Culture Matters Rally today. Let us show them that culture and the arts matters to the citizens of Indianapolis and to those tourists and business people that visit Indy. Bring your mom, bring a friend, bring your optimism, just show up.

Indy Culture Matters Rally

Who: Cultural destination employees, boards, supporters, and others who believe that Indy Culture Matters

What: A rally to draw attention to the contributions of our cultural institutions and to demonstrate that these organizations have a significant impact on Central Indiana’s economy and reputation

When: Monday April 20th at 12 noon

Where: Monument Circle, downtown Indianapolis

Why: Central Indiana’s cultural institutions have been sidelined partners in this city’s success for too long. It’s time to make some noise.

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I have been winding down a bit these past couple days but I am back now. For those of you who were unable to attend our public presentation of the results for the Indianapolis Art Survey, you will now have a limited time to check them out online and if you wish, download the results. We collected a lot of information, responses from 60 questions, so I felt it was simply too much information to post here in full. Over the next week or two I may in fact post a few stats for open discussion but I welcome everyone to use the comment section here or in one of our earlier posts to further discuss these results, ideas and/or possible solutions.

UPDATE: (To accompany some of the commentary going on, here is the stated zip code map from the presentation.)

Indianapolis Zip Code Map (the lighter the color, the lesser number of responses)

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Scott Grow presented the results of the Indianapolis Art Survey at the Harrison Center Thursday evening. He displayed the figures from each question to let the attendees draw their own conclusions. Scott occasionally read samples of additional comments that were submitted. Some were humorous, but most of the time it was easy to spot trends. Even though a little over 40% of the respondents were artists, Scott discovered when that group was removed, the ratios of figures were barely effected.

Two questions sparked the most discussion. The amount of money people had spent buying art and the top figure most would consider for an art purchase hit a ceiling of about $500. Scott pointed out that there are many who easily spend $300 for a few hours of entertainment at a Colts game, but where is the mindset that an investment in original artwork lasts a lifetime?

Mark Rushman, owner of Rushman Gallery, explained how a small to medium gallery costs $250,000 per year to operate. Without sales to corporations, it would be impossible to stay in business when people who are earning $75,000 - $100,000 per year believe that collecting art can be done for the same amount as a couple of trips to the grocery store.

The average income of a professional artist in the U.S. is around $14,000 per year, and that figure is skewed by the minority who make the big bucks - kind of like the perception of professional athletes with the multi-millionaires getting the attention while those in the minor leagues barely scrape by. So it appears that our local arts community needs to better communicate the value of art. Even among artists there can be confusion about how to appropriately price work. It certainly is confusing to patrons and not understood by casual fans.

There are many more facets to the survey Scott has labored for so long. He plans on posting the results soon, and I'd like to encourage everyone to check them out and explore what they mean to you.

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Indianapolis Art Survey

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Bloomington resident and Associate Professor of Photography at the School of Fine Arts at Indiana University Osamu James Nakagawa has been awarded a 2009 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship.

I first encountered James Nakagawa's work in the late-1990's when I was in graduate school in Houston. His photographic explorations show an interesting and careful balance between the analog character of film and the tools of digital technology while exploring the deep existential realms of family, time and the land we occupy. Congratulations to James. His work can occasionally be seen at Pictura Gallery in Bloomington.

Also of note, a neighbor to our northwest who often uses Indiana and it's environs as his subject matter, Chicago photographic artist Brian Ulrich also rereceived a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship. Brian and I have dialouged as gear-geeks and about his recent body of work Dark Stores, Ghostboxes and Dead Malls, which I find poignant and timely in the midst of the great correction of 2009. Congratulations to Brian as well.

A complete list of 2009 Guggenheim Fellows can ve viewed here.

Craig McCormick

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I do enjoy a good art documentary and Painters Painting, has been my favorite documentary since undergrad. I had to have checked out that old VHS copy from the Herron Library at least a half dozen times. I have longed for it to finally show up on DVD and now it has. Oddly enough, I was just talking about this film yesterday. Arthouse Films, a relatively new DVD distributor of art related videos has just announced its release of Painters Painting. They also have a large number of other, quite excellent films worth picking up. Check out their site here.

"It's a great big, cheerfully uncritical hug of a movie about...the contemporary New York art scene and the people who make it hustle...like being at a cocktail party" - The New York Times

Originally released in 1973 but never before available on DVD, PAINTERS PAINTING is the definitive documentary on the New York School of painters, from 1940-1970. Director Emile de Antonio (Point of Order and Millhouse) interviews artists in their studios about their art from the period of Abstract Expressionism, through Hard Edge and Color Field painting to Pop Art. Among the featured painters are Robert Rauschenberg, William de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Stella, Barnett Newman, Hans Hoffman, Jules Olitski, Philip Pavia, Larry Poons, Robert Motherwell, and Kenneth Noland.

PAINTERS PAINTING is digitally remastered and restored by the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and the University of Wisconsin Film Department.

DVD Extras: Emile de Antonio on Painters Painting and Doug Kellner's essay on American Art 1945-1970

Technical: 116 Mins | Color &B/W | 4:3 Letterbox | Stereo | New Digital Transfer from the Original 35mm Print Negative | Not Rated

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For all you abstract painters out there, and anyone else interested in painting, I highly recommend making plans for a little road trip, to Columbus, Ohio next week to catch a talk by Williamsburg based painter, Chris Martin. I happen to be a fan if his work so I am certainly planning on making the trek. Afterall its under a two hour drive depending on traffic and with the ever improving weather, a nice spring road trip will do us all some good. I don't typically post talks outside of Indy, but this one particularly interested me. Perhaps you will decide to make it as well. 

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Mark your calendars, folks!

Indy Culture Matters Rally

WHO: Cultural destination employees, boards, supporters, and others who believe that Indy Culture Matters

WHAT: A rally to draw attention to the contributions of our cultural institutions and to demonstrate that these organizations have a significant impact on Central Indiana’s economy and reputation

WHERE: Monument Circle, downtown Indianapolis

WHY: Central Indiana’s cultural institutions have been sidelined in this city's success for too long. It’s time to make some noise.

WHEN:
Monday April 20th at 12 noon

RSVP to the rally on Facebook

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I very much enjoyed the last of the "Director's Conversation Series" that I attended and I would bet this one will be just as entertaining and insightful. If you can fit it into your schedule, I recommend you giving it a try. If for some reason or another you can not make it, I would guess you may be able to catch it at a later date on the IMA's new ArtBabble.org video site. If you have not already, be sure to check it out as well. Hours upon hours of great videos on art and artists. Hope to see a good number of you at the Toby tomorrow night.

Director’s Conversation Series: MoMA’s Moves
Thursday, April 9
7:00 pm
at the IMA's Tobias Theater

from the IMA's site:

Three and a half years after an $858 million capital campaign and major expansion in midtown Manhattan, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) continues to extend its global influence on public reception of the art of this and the last century.

Glenn D. Lowry, Director of MoMA since 1995, joins Maxwell L. Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the IMA, in a public conversation about MoMA’s plans for the future, and how art museums are confronting globalization, new economic pressures, and rising expectations to serve a multiplicity of needs. Lowry will candidly share his experiences in keeping MoMA at the center of a new art world that has fewer headquarters and more outposts internationally.

A couple more worthwhile talks coming up at the IMA this month:

After Love, After Punk: Takashi Murakami and the Contemporary Japanese Dreamscape Thursday, April 23 | 7:00 pm

Director’s Conversation Series: A New Guggenheim
Thursday, April 30 | 7:00 pm

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NOTE: This post will remain on top until the survey closes. Please scroll down for more recent posts.

UPDATE:
Survey Goal: 500 Responses
Completed Surveys (at last count): 479
Survey Will Now Remain Open Through April 10th

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Tomorrow, ArtBabble.org Goes Live!

According to Facebook the Public Launch takes place:
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 12:05pm
Location: www.artbabble.org (attend via computer)

Some of you may remember our previous mention of ArtBabble in our recent interview with Daniel Incandela, the IMA's Director of New Media. Now the virtual doors are going to open up for everyone. If you enjoy checking out videos about art, interviews with artists and arts professionals, then this site will have something for you. I have had the privilege, these past several weeks to play around on the site, check out some of the videos and try out some of the unique features such as their "Notes" addition. ArtBabble is staging itself to be the premiere site for art videos. No more having to sift through the countless YouTube clips to find the substantive art videos you are looking for.

Today's New York Times article has much more to say about ArtBabble, its conception, and its partnering institutions.

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AV Framing Gallery
1139 Shelby St
Emma Overman
"Picture Show: Imaginary Moments from the Silver Screen"
through April 25

I'll admit I was drawn to Emma Overman's show because of the title "Picture Show: Imaginary Moments from the Silver Screen". As a fan of old movies and a devote of Turner Classic Movies I was curious to find out what she would be interpreting. My first reaction upon entering was one of delight. The whimsical paintings in blacks and grays promised little individual adventures within the found and refinished period frames. For what appears to be grayscale paintings there is a surprisingly large amount of color. Even the grays are tinged in shades of yellows, greens, and browns. Overman remarked that she is still working to establish good grays and that a "splash of color adds zing."

The characters Overman creates to inhabit the slightly eerie landscapes balance the nightmarish with cuteness. A pink pig and black and red butterfly merrily traipse along in dark foreboding woods that might be home to an evil witch. Her wide oval headed people could be a cross between old Nickelodeon cartoons and modern anime. It's easy to imagine Overman paintings hanging on the walls of the Addam's Family mansion or in a Tim Burton movie.

It's easy to see why Overman has had success with illustrating several books already. Each of her paintings is a story.

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wUG LAKU'S STUDIO & gARAGE
1125 Brookside Ave. C7
Wug Laku
"Raw"

I've known Wug too long to write a review of his show, but because he hosts and works so hard for other artists I wanted to at least mention that a visit to his studio is always worthwhile.

As Wug wrote, "Most of these images are somewhat raw, or unfinished, in nature, representing the equivalent of a sketch or a diary page. (You’ll notice that many of them show a bit of wear and tear, just like the pages of a well-thumbed diary or journal.)...Shown collectively, these images reveal some of the progressions I’ve gone through to get to where I am artistically."

There is quote penciled on his wall that I like and asked if I could use it on my site:
"The purpose of art is to bring the heart to the fire to permit the marriage of heart and soul to ignite the fear of the possible."

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Rushman Gallery
948 N. Alabama St.
Arthur Liou
"Improbable Waves"
through April 25

Suggestion: Upon entering the gallery immediately turn left and enter the darkened room to watch the videos before touring the prints of still frames. Arthur Liou's engineered videos using artwork to create sloooooooow motion waves of beautiful colors. For anyone wanting to use their widescreen high definition televisions for displaying fine art this is a good example of how to do it. Instead of some generic screensaver or simply turned off, Liou's videos offer an excellent alternative for a home theatre.

As with the archival prints, the videos on discs are sold as a limited edition of just eight.

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Harrison Center for the Arts
1505 N. Delaware St.
Susan Hodgin
"Cairns"

Without already knowing that this long pursued series is symbolic of piles of rock it would be easy to interpret Susan Hodgin's paintings as being more organic and even floral. The bright palette she uses with oils and charcoal has a light, joyful feel that mirrors the drifting and overlapping circles and ovals. It's hard to believe her inspiration comes from rocks. It's to her credit that Hodgin can elevate the piles, the cairns, to the emotional context that motivated various peoples to stack them to begin with. While Hodgin's paintings are certainly decorative, she does evoke positive feelings. One can't help but feel elevated while surrounded by these floating stones.

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April 3 -- First Friday 6 p.m. to midnight.

Featuring artwork by Todd Bracik and live ambient music by Shiny Black Shirt.

Here's a question and answer session with Todd Bracik, one of the artists in the Big Car Collective. He's shown work many times in Indianapolis and in the Chicago area -- as well as in Slovenia.

Q. What got you involved and interested?

A. "They were just going to throw this away!" is a common phrase I have repeated over the years. I have always been fascinated by how things work. My collecting of objects is a search for understanding; possibly a searching for my place?

Q. What is your main inspiration or is there a theme or obsession with your work?

A. I like to collect objects that are weathered worn bent or broken. I focus on their shape form and potential to combine with other objects. Sometimes a sculpture comes together right off and other times it takes days.

Q. What can people expect from this show?

A: The show will be an installation of metal artifacts along with video and audio clips that I have put together.

Q. Tell us more about your show overseas.

A. I raised my own money. Money was donated to my project by the Slovenian ministry of culture and the KSKJ, which is a Slovenian organization here in the states. I called my project "scraps from the past" as it was a sculpture installation dedication to my Slovenian roots. I flew out to Slovenia, stayed for a week and collected objects I found around the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia with the help of an assistant who was assigned to me by the gallery at Metelkova. We searched in back alleys, abandoned buildings, roadsides, neighborhood dumps, wrecked and abandoned cars, and scrap yards for any steel we could find. After a week of arduous work and long hours the piece became what I called "foundations."




Jim Walker
curator, Big Car
www.bigcar.org
(317) 408-1366
1043 Virginia Ave. Suite 215
Indianapolis, IN 46203

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at HARRISON CENTER FOR THE ARTS:

CAIRNS - new work by Susan Hodgin
Artist Reception
Friday, April 3, 6 to 9pm

The Harrison Center presents Cairns - new work by Susan Hodgin. This exhibit is part of an ongoing series that explores the various shapes and forms of cairns - human-made mounds of stone. Hodgin, an avid traveler has been collecting images of cairns from as far away as Honduras to Fountain Square. These images have provided the inspiration for this body of work.

In Hank & Dolly's Gallery:
IDADA's annual First in Line Exhibition and Sale

In the Gallery Annex:
Amy McAdams, Erin Drew, James Ratliff

After the opening:
Concert in the Underground
Making April with The Record Life, Jimmy Robbins and Harlequin
Doors open at 9pm
Music at 9:30pm
Tickets: $8/advance, $10/door
Buy online at www.eventbrite.com
Featuring new paintings by Brian Myers

Brian Myers’ recent paintings are of paper airplanes, to-go bags, and toy airplanes, set adrift in atmospheric sky scenes.

Exhibition title: ”Liberation”

“My earlier still life paintings focused on arrangements of everyday objects like umbrellas and paper airplanes painted directly from life as they lay on the studio floor. In the recent work these objects are placed in a context where they begin to take on movement and meaning of their own. I have always been drawn to make images that suggest human experience and portray a sense of absence, like empty chairs or discarded toys. To me the airplanes and bags in the sky are expressions of liberation or grace and suggest the fleetingness of life.”

Exhibition dates: April 3rd, 2009 – April 22nd, 2009
Opening reception will be Friday, April 3rd from 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.

Exhibition location: ARTBOX in the Stutz 2 building.
217 West 10th Street suite 125, Indianapolis, IN 46202 317-955-2450,

www.artboxindy.com gallery hours W-F 11-2 and by appt.




in CHICAGO:



Afterimage
by Betsy Stirratt

at Packer Schopf Gallery
942 W Lake St.
Chicago, IL 60607
312-226-8984

Artists Reception: Friday, April 3, 5-8pm
Art Chicago Reception: Saturday, May 2, 6-9pm
catalogue available
essay by James Yood