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Ed McGowin's retrospective exhibition Name Change is currently up at Herron Galleries through April 17. Upon entering the gallery, it is difficult to believe that all of the art on exhibition was created by one person. There is photography, brass sculpture, painting, woodcarving, and minimalist sculpture. The subject matter is as varied as the media, ranging from iconography of dogs in odd scenarios to exploding ice cream cones to depictions of specific people and storytelling narratives. McGowin has had his name legally changed a total of twelve times, and creates art for each of the names (including Ed McGowin). Each section of the exhibition contains a framed, screen printed copy of the official name change document for the respective artistic persona. It is truly incredible how each "artist" has his own style, subject matter and quirkiness.

McGowin is certainly a multi-talented artist, but his prowess in woodcarving stands out the most. Some of his art is embellished with elaborately carved frames, as in the photo below. His art is extremely curious; it almost verges on kitsch at times yet it is so bizarre and interesting in its subject matter and execution as well as choice of materials that it has no trouble securing its place in the world of fine art.

For more words and images and a video interview with the artist, head to Outposts From The Material World

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Home spaces are usually interesting because they contain other art and non-art objects that relate or give an eclectic feel to the displayed artwork. The homeowner also influences the viewer’s perspective by providing the comfort of a lived-in space.

On March 20th, a residency on East Ohio Street presented a one night viewing of “A Different Kind of Home Show”, an exhibition of mixed media artworks by Justin Cooper and Mike Graves of the BRIDGE Collective.

Covering the inside, upstairs and downstairs walls of the home were a collection of Cooper and Graves’ artworks from the past eight years. Fittingly titled, the paintings tied together a stream of socially conscious artwork rather than aiming to perpetuate a pure, aesthetically pleasing space.

Each artwork in the show was either done exclusively by each artist, or created through collective efforts of both artists together. The collaborative process and individual efforts of both artists result in a blurring of subject matter and interests in which neither artist can, nor needs to be identified as much as the expression and message of the work becomes the forefront and focus.

The BRIDGE Collective is a group that seeks to make meaning through expressive/ experimental art, ideas, and materials. In this thread of works, there is a social commentary and commitment to which the artists are truth-tellers in an abstract and playful manner. Graphic-style images mixed in with surreal forms and existences provide a statement of intent in which perceptions are not always ‘seeing is believing’.

Using materials unconventionally is a strong commonality between Cooper and Graves. Graves has always used media manipulation to constantly refresh his skills and challenge himself. Cooper has expressed his desire for learning how materials interact with one another as a personal pursuit since he was not able to gain the knowledge and experience from local college level art school.

Many of the paintings in this exhibition, influenced by comic book characters, are shiny-coated in an idealistic manner giving props and acclaim to the powers of the subjects portrayed. The triptych in the front room successively titled “Storm”, ‘”You’re a Liar”, and “It’s Only Water’” is a compilation of superhero images and dialogue. The main character spouts, “Aren’t there times you wish you were ‘Normal’….No. Not for a Moment. Not Once.” Fantasy and reality are meshed between the entertainment of a comic book and the reality of every day life.

The messages in each artwork create an awareness of varied realities through viewpoints, words, and images that blend and separate truth. In an artwork by Graves, titled “Ronin’s Abilities”, the character Ronin is painted over church sheet music implying that the strength of a comic book character is as mystical and empowering as the church itself.

Another artwork titled “Old Couple” displays a picture of the Egyptian greywacke sculpture “King Menkure and Wife Khamerernebty”. Khamerernebty is next to her husband, Menkure, one arm encircling his waist and the other hand touching his arm in a solid and confident manner as they stand firmly together. This artifact from art history and its new title makes for a lengthy discussion on the values of marriage and relationships in the 21^th century. There is beauty in the multiple meanings found in this artwork.

While some artworks were animated, other works by Cooper featured more natural subject matter. Animal portraits of a frog, red panda, and dog were painted over a patterned background. Cooper suggests that the way in which animals were once hidden by their environment through patterning, are now clearly apparent, exposed, and subjected to the maze in which they now live.

The home show included other bits and pieces of Cooper and Graves’ artwork. On the entry way table a postcard book filled with Graves’ paintings including his erotic series were available for sale for $25. Cooper also had a self-designed business card for the taking.

The BRIDGE Collective combines the expressive endeavors of many different artists in the community. The home show was just a sample of the collective’s projects and activities. For more information contact Shannon Wilson at (317) 362-8104 or shannonkaywilson@gmail.com and at www.BRIDGECollective.org.

Photo submitted by Shannon Wilson

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I have been meaning to post this for the past several days. Unfortunately I missed getting it up in time for a recent informational meeting discussing this project, that was held last night. All apologies. In an attempt to help raise funds for both local artists, while also raising funds for the Contemporary Art Acquisition Fund for the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I leave this to those artists reading this to decide if this is something you would like to try and/or support. Below is the information available regarding this opportunity. If you have further questions, contact either Mindy Ross or Christopher West who are spearheading this event. Hopefully we see some great art being offered up and we can raise a good amount of money for the acquisition fund.

• Consignment form is attached. Up to 75% of the sales price is paid out to you! Consignments from individual artists will have a 25-35% commission to the auction house, which is far less then most contemporary galleries are able to accept when working with emerging artists. 
• All consignments will be published in a 4-color print and on-line catalogue
• The auction will be advertised in local and national print publications and on prominent on-line sites such as artnet.com
• Sales results may be listed on artnet.com (meaning you too may get listed on artnet.com)!

• Digital images of work available for consignment. Please be sure each image is titled to match a corresponding description list. (There are no image size requirements but please be sure it is a good clear image of the work.)
• A Word Document that contains descriptions of each artwork and which clearly corresponds with the names of the digital image files. Descriptions should contain:
• Your contact information [include US mailing address, email address and phone number(s)]
• Title of the work, Year of execution
• Medium
• Dimensions
• The price that you believe you would normally be able to sell this work for in a gallery setting.
• Any descriptive information that you think would be helpful for our consideration and/or for a catalogue description

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NERS currently has a solo show at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis called Magical Wonderfulness. The iconography in this body of work is largely based on animals, which is inspired by NERS' experiences in national parks during his voyage. Animals have often figured into his artwork in the past, but they are especially prominent here. The familiar rainbows that NERS loves to utilize are also present, but in Magical Wonderfulness the art has become decidedly more violent. There is lots of gore and disembowelment throughout the work, which provides an interesting juxtaposition to the rather light and flowery iconographic elements that the violence combines with in these drawings. There is also a great emphasis on what is drawn due to the large amounts of negative space, which is used as a compositional element. Since there are few backdrops or background details, each image commands the viewer's full attention.

For more pictures, information and an artist interview visit OUTPOSTS FROM THE MATERIAL WORLD

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Erin K Drew's show Metamorpher at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis showcased various recent artwork including sculptural installation, site-based painting, and framed works. Combining what appears to be innocent, cartoon-like iconography on the surface with more cynical undertones, Drew says that this body of work is helping her to get the past out of her system and move on with her life. "There's a lot of oversimplification of imagery," she says to explain the juxtaposition between childlike forms and dark emotional backdrops. The work evokes the imagery of the Tom Tom Club's cover art and the work of artists such as Bruce Nauman, Christopher Wool and Richard Prince through its reference to neon signs, its semiotic wordplay and its sharp sense of wit and humor. Some of the images below showcase Drew's artistic process insofar as it flows from source research material to the artist's notebook and finally to the gallery wall. For an added bit of irony, Drew utilized rejected blends of house paint for the wall mural in this exhibition, slyly mirroring her feelings of dismay.

For more pictures, information and artist interviews visit OUTPOSTS FROM THE MATERIAL WORLD

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I expect that tonights IDADA First Friday event will be a well attended one. The weather is nice and there is a lot to see. Also of note tonight, for those who are looking to buy some art in support of IDADA, their annual fund raising event, First In Line is tonight only. Where at you may ask, well it is in the old GC Lucas Gallery space on Mass Ave, next door to R Bistro. A first come art buying/fundraising event. Several artists have donated works to sell, each for only $100. Some artist are giving all the proceeds directly to IDADA while others are donating 50%. Help IDADA raise some funds for their upcoming projects. No need to stop there, all the usual venues are open tonight as well. Enjoy the weather and see some art. As per usual, for more details and a further openings check out the IDADA First Friday Map, link in our sidebar. See you around tonight.


at ArtBox:
Intersections
ARTBOX Gallery invites you to join us for the opening reception of "Intersections." "Intersections" features new paintings by Michal Lile, Mark Pack and Bob Hunt. This show will run from March 5th through March 29th, with the opening reception being held on Friday, March 5th from 5pm to midnight. ARTBOX Gallery is located downtown, in the historic Stutz II building, with entrance and parking on Senate between 9th & 10th.


at Harrison Center:
FOOD CON
This month the Old Northside will be teeming with "foodies" as they make their way to Food Con, an unconventional convention that features art exhibitions, poetry, films and lectures, hands-on activities and more. In a joint project between the Harrison Center and the Indiana Humanities Council's Food for Thought campaign, Food Con will be a first-of-its-kind showcase and exploration of the art and culture of food in Indiana. Artists include Ben Valentine, Bruce Campbell, Penelope Dullaghan, Carolyn Springer, Kim Lohr, Kyle Ragsdale, Elizabeth Goerlitz, Leah Gauthier, Kristin Hess, Tom O. Reed and Craig McCormick. 20+ foodie exhibitors, progressive storytelling, 21 open studios and much more.


at Big Car Gallery:
Magical Wonderfulness
After a tough break up, Indianapolis based artist NERS set out on his own and headed West. From this trip he produced Magical Wonderfulness, a series of drawings that will open at Big Car on March 5 at 6 p.m. The imagery from the show was inspired by the dramatically different landscapes, flora, fauna, and culture of the American West that he experienced during his recent travels. NERS chronicled this journey with a blog entitled “The Magical Wonderfulness of PBS Goes West." http://magicalwonderfulness.blogspot.com/ “The blog was a way to vent some of my feelings and share that I was alive and alright," said NERS. "The trip itself opened my eyes for better and for worse. It helped me produce an intensely personal body of work." Also that evening Outside Orchestra, an ensemble of local, contemporary classical musicians will play that night starting at 9:30 pm. The show will run through March 20, with business hours Thursday-Saturday 11-6.


at Mt. Comfort Gallery:
David Schalliol
If you're all stressed out because you missed the opening last month due to the "first friday blizzard of 2010" relax, don't worry, it's still up.  Join us this First Friday at the "new and improved" mt.comfort (a space for champions) as we welcome back the amazing Chicago based photographer, David Schalliol and his Isolated Building Studies. David is indeed a Chicago based artist, BUT he's from Indianapolis, so he's also a hoosier, I'm just say'n. David is also a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago. His photographs and writing have appeared in such publications as American Photo, The American Sociologist, Contexts, Proximity and Revue Geste. He continues to work on the Isolated Building Studies, as well as on other projects exploring the transformation of urban centers. his website is ... http://davidschalliol.com check it out, you'll love it.


at Indy Swank:
Alice in Fashionland
Visit the other side of the looking glass at IndySwank on First Friday, where the magical imagery of collage art reigns and fashion is queen. Collage artist Stuart Cecil has added new pieces to his installation, which is a must to view if you haven't already. We are also launching IndySwank's collaboration with local fashion designer Berny Martin. Models will be wearing the amazing pieces created by Berny soon to be available at IndySwank. As always there is a lot going on at the Murphy, so hope to see you there!

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Stake Your Claim
Monday, March 1st, 8pm - 9:30pm
Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN


Two Wabash faculty, Kristen Wilkins and Jeff Eisenberg, will be opening an exhibition on Monday, March 1st at 8:00 p.m., on campus in the Eric Dean and Permanent Collection Galleries. The exhibition titled Stake Your Claim! unlike anything we have featured in our galleries before, is representative of a growing direction in the contemporary art world. It breaks from a long-standing notion that the visual artist is a solitary being working in seclusion, as this show features collaboration between two artists and a number of other members of our community. Professors Wilkins and Eisenberg met this year here at Wabash. Quite naturally, they discovered overlapping interests in their creative visions and have been working in tandem developing this exhibition since last November. This exhibition removes the distance between artist and viewer and encourages participation, inviting visitors to become actively involved in this world of art and commerce, of transient culture (where people under 40 will change jobs an average of 10 times), and where the American Dream becomes redefined. The exhibition creates a world, both actual and virtual, that meets consumer culture head-on and suggests that we consider the complexities of our contemporary society.

The exhibition is an immersive experience as it includes painting, photography, a video installation, a video game, sound art, a “trading” table, and more. Please join the Art Department for the premiere of Stake Your Claim! (And bring your pack mule).