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INSTALLATION NATION


Its that time of year again. Primary Colours in their sophomore round of Installation Nation. I was intrigued last year but hoping to see what they can do this time around. I hope for a bigger and better event this time. If you want to participate, now is your chance to apply. See the following information to see how.

MANIFEST GALLERY, Cincinnati

Well, on occasion we like to alert out readers of shows outside of Indy that are interesting in their own right and/or involving some local art talent. I have been keeping up with the Cincinnati gallery, Manifest for awhile now. They have shown some Indy artists on occasion and have an interesting lineup of exhibitions. Tonight opens a couple shows there, one of which will include one Emily Schnellbacher. Below is the info from the press release. While it may be last minute notice, those of you who happen to be in the Cincinnati region, for art, friends, IKEA, whatever, I think you should check out this gallery.


Indianapolis Artist Emily Schnellbacher
Featured in “Rites of Passage” Exhibit in Cincinnati
6th Annual RITES OF PASSAGE
April 16 - May 14, 2010
Opening Reception: Friday, April 16, 6-9 p.m.
Manifest: 2727 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati Ohio 45206
www.manifestgallery.org

RITES OF PASSAGE curated by Tim Parsley was conceived and initiated in 2005, The Rites of Passage exhibits were developed in order to support student excellence by offering a public venue for the display of advanced ‘creative research’; to promote young artists as they transition into their professional careers; and to bring the positive creative energies of regional institutions together in one place.

A total of 530 works were submitted by 90 artists. Out of these, a set of 131 semi-fi nalist works were narrowed down to 10. The 2010 Rites of Passage exhibit features these ten works by eight artists from 7 schools in 5 different states.

The exhibit will include works of painting, photography, drawing, and mixed media by: Leigh Bornhorst (Senior, Miami University - Oxford), Jase Flannery (2009 Gradaute, Ohio State University), John Grgas (Junior, University of Cincinnati), James Linkous (Senior, Austin Peay State University), Stacia McKeever (Senior, Western Illinois University), Abigail McLaurin (2009 Graduate, Coker College - South Carolina), Aidan Schapera (2009 Graduate, University of Cincinnati), and Emily Schnellbacher (Senior, Herron School of Art and Design).


STUTZ ARTIST OPEN HOUSE


Before I forget, I thought I remind everyone of the upcoming Stutz Artist Open House that opens next weekend. From the press release:

Stutz Artists Open House, more than 70 local artists are feverishly hanging art and cleaning up their studios in anticipation of the thousands of guests who attend this annual don’t-miss event.

The Stutz building is a 400,000-square-foot former car factory that’s been renovated into artist studios and offices.  Once a year, the artists open their studios to visitors for a two-day open house and art show.

Located on an entire city block downtown, the historic building becomes a massive maze of creativity and fun, with art, live music and food around every corner.  Throughout the building, artwork ranging from paintings and jewelry to sculpture and photography is complemented by classic automotive design in the form of building owner Turner Woodard’s vintage car collection.

Admission is $10 in advance at select Old National Bank centers or $12 at the gate.  Proceeds support the Stutz Residency Program, a scholarship that provides free studio space and utilities for emerging local artists. It is one of the largest grants to individual artists in the state.

WHAT:   Stutz Artists Open House

WHEN:   Friday, April 23, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
       Saturday, April 24, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE:  Stutz Business Center, 1060 N. Capitol Ave. (Free parking at specially marked lots; enter from 10th or 11th streets.)

COST:   $10 advance tickets at Old National Bank centers; $12 tickets at the gate; Kids 16 and younger are free on Saturday only

INFO:   www.stutzartists.com, 317-503-6420

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Prologue


For the last week I have been home sick, fighting off an everlasting head cold. And for the past couple months now I have had an overwhelming feeling of concern for my own lack of any substantive arts writing for this here blog. Be it other distractions, obligations, or simple procrastination, I thought today I would trudge out of the house and head to the IMA to check out the Tara Donovan show in particular and enjoy the great Spring weather. The following are some fragmented thoughts and observations on todays viewings as I blog live from the IMA. Keep watching later for some in depth writings leading up to the grand opening of the Art and Nature Park.

The Good


The weather if absolutely beautiful today. The sun is shining and there is a nice breeze blowing. A great time to walk around the IMA's grounds with some many of the trees and flowers beginning to bloom. A couple people having a picnic on the front manicured lawn. Brilliant. Heading inside I go straight to the Contemporary collection. Just my usual approach... I am pleased that in the past few years that the IMA has managed to rearrange their collection as often as they do. Seeing these new juxtapositions of works helps to see pieces in a new light. I think I actually liked seeing the Lee Krasner piece today, perhaps for the first time. Is it due to the new proximity to the Joan Mitchell and the Hans Hoffman or just given enough space this time to be seen in a better way? I do not really care really, just glad to see it with new eyes today. I was glad also to see that the Kara Walker piece had been removed and replaced with a new video work. Not that I have anything against the Walker piece, quite the contrary, I love the work but it has been up for a very long time. Maybe now I can one day anticipate seeing it again and be surprised when I do. The Ellsworth Kelly pieces looked particularly fresh today since last I saw them. I chalk this up to the great light coming in the windows of the adjoining Fred Sandback room. I do love that orange/red yarn piece! And for me, I quite enjoyed the fairly recent installation of the Richard Tuttle drawings and sculpture. Seeing these pieces together create, for me at least, a great peek into his work and use of materials. The economy of his choices... And perhaps last of the little surprises that stood out to me today, was a nice recent acquisition of a quilt from one of the Gees Bend pieces. Thinking back to that show, I do believe that that show had grown on me and made me appreciate those quilts in particular.

The Not So Good


Some people may say I am being nit picky here, and yes I am. But one of the things about coming to the IMA or any major art museum for that matter, is that once you raise the bar to a certain level in the quality of the works and the presentation of them, I feel we should hold them to that bar. I am certain they understand these concerns and more than likely these will be taken care of soon but I shall mention them here simply for the purpose that these things in particular did bother me when walking around the collections and some of these have bothered me for quite a long time. I may not be alone on these thoughts. To start, once again some bumbling patron has touched the Donald Judd sculpture, leaving very noticeable, distracting and annoying fingerprints on the brass. Did they not teach people to not touch art works like in elementary school. I do not place blame here on the museum of the security staff, but you out there who have at one time touched the art works. Stop Touching the Judd! In all the years I have seen this piece, I think I have only seen it fingerprint free twice. Quite annoying. Sadly a the only spot light focused on the Richard Pousette-Dart painting was out. I quite enjoy that painting but with out proper lighting its a very difficult painting to appreciate as it is already a dark painting. The bigger concern for me today was that one of their video/sculpture pieces (the Michal Rovner vitrine piece) was out of commission more than a month ago when I came here and today, it remains that way. Seriously? I would rather just see it leave the floor all together if its not going to be fixed within a week. The hallways area outside the glass room, typically showing works on paper, remains empty this month as well. Disappointing. I would have liked to see the previous works remain on view until it was time to hang a new group of works. This may have been a small thing to me if it wasn't for the fact that the Forefront Galleries are still blocked off and empty this month too. I point these out to show that I, as a frequent patron, notice these sort of things. Seeing as I had to renew my membership today, something I really should not be spending money on at this time, I want to see that I get the most out of these visits when I come out. I love to see things change and shift with each visit. And now, for something that I have long wanted to see happen that I am just going to throw out there, I think it is time to retire two works in particular. The Alice Aycock monstrosity and the Nam June Paik. Don't get me wrong. I like a lot of Paik works, this just happens to be one I really can not stand looking at. And that Aycock piece... Aside from looking like some mechanical torutre device, its just time to waken that entire corner of the Contemporary floor up with an overhaul of new works and juxtapositions that we get elsewhere. I expect the size and weight of these piece make moving them and storing them more difficult and therefore may impact why they seem to hang around. But, I vote on ousting them for a couple years. Whether its the economy, lack of available staff, over extended on the project front (the recent Tara Donovan opening and the Art and Nature Park) or some combination of these, I hope to see some shifts on these fronts in the coming months.

Tara Donovan Untitled


I have long been on the fence when it came to Tara Donovan's work. Seeing most of her work only in books, videos, magazines and online certainly has an impact on my expectations. I have seen a handful of her works in person but was not quite sure how I would like an entire exhibition of works. Would it be too much or would all the piece add up to much more? Today, I attempted to check out the show free of expectation. In hopes of just allowing the show to come to me as I saw it.

The first few rooms were devoted to her works on paper. Prints and drawings. The printmaker in me was instantly taken in, but in a way that I think mostly printmakers would get into them. I was more interested in the process than I was in the final outcome. This was not always the case, a series of large black and white prints, from what looks to be printed from shattered glass were quite impactful and quite graphic. Graphic being a word I would seldom associate to her work in general. Perhaps my personal favorites of all the works on paper were a series of drawings that appeared to me to be made from the use of ink and bubbles. There was an interesting and subtle quality to these particular pieces that stood out to me amidst the other works in the area.

Having reflected for the past hour or more after seeing the show, I strongly feel that the works on paper are quite minor in comparison to the larger three dimensional works. There is something about the larger installations that transcend the viewer and their experience with the work that you do not get in the works on paper. While the sculptures seem to embrace the process and obsessive compulsive nature of making these works to create a new experience, the drawings and works on paper feel more like documentation of the process and with some exceptions, ends there.



Walking into the rooms with the larger installations, I was amazed at how much they changed the rooms. In the context of the large installation configured out of plastic cups, I was taken by the play of light and color throughout the piece. Quite unexpected. I instantly began drawing parallels to aerial landscapes and alien topography. Neither of which I am quite certain of whether this is intended, as I have yet to read much in the artists own words. But the large undulating field of plastic cups or the huge bed of craggy black tar paper create to me, elegant and surreal alien landscapes out of the minutest, insignificant materials. Though a massive amount of each. Perhaps this reading into alien moonscapes and the like or aerial topography stands out to me strongly today due to the fact that I woke up today watching a number of old sci fi films from the 30's - 60's. There is an elegance to these works that I find myself falling for. In the last room stands a large, playful piece made from spherical like forms, composed of contorted sheets of mylar. I hate to use the term alien again, but it just seems to fit. Like some bizarre alien sculptural form that seems somewhat plantlike and organic while being made out of such an obvious  man made material as mylar sheeting. It is this use of materials and their transformation where Donovan truly shows her talents. While not all the three dimensional works come together fully for me, the three centerpieces for this show, absolutely embody the best Donovan has to offer.



In all, I think I may now be less on the fence with her work and will stand on the fan side. At least for today. It also pleased me to hear that a number of Herron students (some 20 or more) were brought in to help with the installation of this exhibition. I think this experience will be a great benefit to up and coming art students to get an idea of the amount of work that goes into a piece for a show of this scale. So props to the IMA for working with the local art school students and giving them this opportunity once again. We will certainly be discussing this further in the coming month.

If you get the chance, come on out to the IMA on a nice day, walk the grounds and then the collections. For the most part it is free, though the Tara Donovan show is a special exhibition and therefor costs some dollars but I think you will be fine with doing so. Enjoy.

[Note: Thanks to the IMA staff for the images used on this post.]

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For First Friday in April at the Murphy Art Building, Mike Graves and Justin Cooper exhibit a series of giant paper works called “The Big Paper Show”.

The acquisition of the paper and its size prove to be an exciting venture for Cooper and Graves. Eleven mural-sized, paper artworks cover the walls of the space while eight smaller paintings give a short place to momentarily pause and reflect.

The materials and size of the works are enough to draw an audience into the space. The paper works were done on scene paper, background paper for photographic shots.

While positioned on the wall, the artists used ladders to reach the highest points on the paper. The paintings endured much turning and layering as the work developed. Graves reveals that some of the pieces were layered with up to five under paintings.

Simple but expressive, the artworks in this series are mainly black and white. Looking closer, some paintings contain bits of colored washes and splatters. Other pieces exude tones of blue or exclusively show lone reds or greens or yellows.

Two large boxing paintings can be seen in the secondary main space. For these particular works, Graves and Cooper collaborated with photographer Jeff Jeffries using one of his boxing images and a projector to enlarge the photo. Then the artists painted the figures, giving a life-size energy to the wall space. Each piece is a reflection of the other. Both works side by side engross the viewer in the action.

For the artists, the large paper artworks in this exhibit were intended to be studies that are important to the collective’s development. Graves explained that some would go on to be future, detailed paintings. One work titled “Big Fight”, that appears as a giant wall piece, has already been repainted in a smaller version.

“Big Fight” explores characters of good and evil. In this comic book action scene, Sherlock Holmes and The Joker are simultaneously keying into the same locked door. A valkyrie swoops in from the left, top side of the paper while a fallen maiden dramatically collapses in the right, bottom corner. Much action occurs while the Judge or Referee, looking suspiciously like Genghis Khan, sits nearby. Words in the painting ask, “Who Has Whom in Battle?”

The ideas of “Big Fight” are not singular in their context. Graves explains that during this time, he and Cooper were looking at a booklet that described ways of how to put on Victorian coats. Graves and Cooper further the contextual meaning of the artwork by integrating the ideas of rules as a set system that is ready to be broken.

They suggest that rules or manners and the “proper” ways of doing things are subject to scrutiny and reform. “Big Fight” reflects upon ‘Who makes the rules and who breaks the rules? Who follows the rules and who chooses to break them? When do they decide to break them and how do they decide to do this?’

A feeling of breaking the rules follows throughout the exhibit. Next to boxers and superheroes, pin-up girls are the third type of subject matter that appears in these large paper works.

“Bad Umbrella Pin Up” shows a girl extending her leg sensually amidst a Chinese landscape during a rainstorm. The landscaped mountains are painted as ink-like language characters. The girl doesn’t seem to mind being drenched. The title suggests that the malfunction of her umbrella has either ruined or enhanced her presentation.

In a second piece, “Torrential Pin Up” again, the model is soaked in a rainstorm. Using watered-down acrylic, Cooper and Graves have layered blue paint cascading from the upper, left side downward in a diagonal direction. Graves points to curiosity, shock, and humor as reasons for portraying pin-ups.

Graves says that he could choose to paint something controlled or realistic but intentionally uses an expressive manner. He explains how the expressiveness of the paintings gives way to the overall impression and understanding of the art. “It doesn’t matter what subject is painted” necessarily, but that it is painted freely and passionately. Exploring the rawness of splattering, dripping, and mark-making provide an intense satisfaction for the artists.

For the BRIDGE Collective, the beauty of creating the artwork is that the artists get to contribute their unique talents. For this series, Graves set up the papers to be painted. Both artists discussed ideas and planned out their subjects. Cooper painted the dark, linear outlines for the figures. Then both artists expressively added to each work by censoring with white paint and repainting. Overall it is a push and pull process where each artist temporarily breathes a new identity into the work until completion.

The BRIDGE Collective chooses to push the boundaries of art through their exploration of fresh subject matter and re-contextualizing of social ideas in a multi-faceted manner. Graves states that the large pieces seek to create “tension” thoroughly achieved by the sheer size of the works. The massive spill-strokes and the subjects of moral dilemma encourage the viewer to further contemplate these artworks.

The exhibit will be up through April 20th.

Photo submitted by Shannon Wilson

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At the Harrison Center for the Arts

The Harrison Center presents "Spawn" - new work by Carla Knopp with an artist reception Friday, April 9 from 6 to 9pm. Knopp's work reflects a dually-focused purpose. She seeks artistic revelation from both personally-derived expressionism and from formal experimentation. These two impulses guide her work, either separately or in tandem, and form a portfolio of work which embraces both mystical imagery and abstraction.

Also that night: Works by Scott Grow, Tyler Meuninck. In Gallery No. 2 - UINDY Artists - A Word from the Southside; in Hank & Dolly's Gallery - Anthropomorphism - new work by Herron School of Art senior, Emily Schnellbacher; in the gym - 1950s sci-fi movies; in the courtyard - Blue Stone Folk School's Geoff Davis performs; across from the Harrison Gallery - Creative Renewal Fellow Jeff Sparks (Heartland Truly Moving Pictures) presents photos and speaks about his recent trip to Thailand.

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Sadly, well not so sadly for me, I will not be making it out to this months IDADA First Friday event, as I am still in NYC. Spent all day today gallery hopping Chelsea. Loved it, but thats for another day or another post. With the Tara Donovan exhibition up and running at the IMA this weekend I would recommend that those of you who were not able to make it to the preview last night should head out there this weekend during the day, maybe walk the grounds a bit while you are there and the weather is good. Bit, save your Friday night for your local gallery hop.

As per usual, if you would like further details on the IDADA First Friday events, and a map, click the link to the right.


Sorry folks for the lack of images in todays post. I am simply exhausted tonight and need some sleep. Enjoy the shows.

IMOCA

"Seeing is Becoming"
Opening Reception, Friday April 2nd, 6-11pm.

The Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art (iMOCA) opens a show created from the curatorial vision of Jay Jordan featuring six artists from across the nation titled “Seeing is Becoming.”

The show opens Friday April 2 from 6-11 pm and will run through May 15.

Lexington, KY artists Louis Bickett and Dmitry Strakovsky, Louisville, KY artists Letitia Quesenberry and Chris Radtke, and Los Angeles artists Julie Orser and Shizu Saldamando, resist easy, fixed notions of identity and point to potential new ways of seeing and being.

“The work does not aim at a single, correct interpretation,” says Jordan. “But examines the artist’s attempt to grapple with the problematic nature of reality.”

For example in Saldamando’s pieces Looking at Art, The Reception, she slyly reverses the position of the viewer and the subject. The subjects, the artist’s friends attending a gallery opening, are drawn in ballpoint pen on canvas. They gaze out expectantly, placing the viewer in the unusual position of the artwork.

In Bickett’s work, carefully archived objects appear to be the collected personal effects of a presumably fictitious ‘Daddy.’ The objects and their labels suggest a complex and often contradictory narrative around their absent owner.

“These artists introduce ideas, and to a certain degree they explain them, but they don't tell us, not completely anyway, the problems to which those concepts are a response,” explains Jordan. “These gaps are openings, allowing us as viewers to become co-conspirators with the artists.”

Museum hours of Thursday-Saturday 11-6, closed on holidays.


Four Star Gallery

HERRON SCHOOL of ART DESIGN
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS
Cue the Violins

653 Massachusetts Ave.
OPENING RECEPTION: April 2nd from 5pm to 9pm
Video Screening at the Wheeler Building

Exhibition: April 2 to April 30
Gallery Hours: 11-5 M-Th 11-7 F 12-7 S

The senior photography students are presenting their final show of the year. Be there to see distinctive work created from every day nature, intimacy, life, and reality. Meet the artists and view their art while eating good food.

Exhibiting Artists:
Ceara Baskerville. Nicole Bock. Megan Bryant. Carol Cashen. Ashley Gilbert. Justin Jett. Ronne Stone. Laurel Lee. Kristine Bedwell. Jennifer Meeker. Paul Miller. Kurt Nettleton. Kyle Smith. Joan Taylor. Erin Van Leer. Justin Walsh. Brittany Williams. Esther Wolf.


Mt. Comfort

DECAY/SUSTAIN

Athenaeum ArtSpace

"Charming Displeasures"
April 2-29, 2010
Opening Reception, Friday April 2, 6-9pm


“Charming Displeasures” is a collaborative senior thesis show put on by Herron School of Art & Design Printmaking majors Courtney Coriell and Socorro Rico. This show explores personal identity, which is expressed through appearance, relationship, and experience. We wish to demonstrate how these 3 issues are unique to ourselves, but also how they can be translated and interpreted to apply to everyone. As young artists it is integral that we begin to build a connection with the community.

401 E. Michigan Street


Dean Johnson Gallery
Objects by Ray Duffey + New Drawings by Tess Michalik
Opening Reception, Friday April 2nd, 6-9pm

The Dean Johnson Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of Objects by Ray Duffey + New Drawings by Tess Michalik. This exhibition brings together two artists working in different mediums but with a similar minimalist aesthetic. Duffey is interested in the potential ambiguity of objects. His highly refined sculpture and furniture emphasize form and craft, yet often allow the viewer to associate their own interpretations. Michalik's drawings utilize paint and pencil to convey their own formal messages. Here a simple brush stroke or pencil mark create a beautiful composition that, as in Duffey's work, is open to interpretation.

An opening reception for the artists will take place Friday, April 2nd from 6 until 9 pm.

Dean Johnson Gallery
646 Massachusetts Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46204


Big Car Gallery

A selection of paintings, drawings, ephemera, objects found and transformed, flyers, posters, and documentary video clips culled from the archives of John Clark, the inventor of pLopLop will open at Big Car Gallery April 2 at 6 p.m.
Inspired by dada, surrealism and fluxus activity, pLopLop started life as an experimental arts and literary zine nearly 20 years ago. pLopLop grew beyond publishing to encompass live performance, video experiments, multimedia installations and visual art innovations based on collaboration and transformation.

The pLopLop show at Big Car gallery reflects the ongoing experimental and collaborative energies of the inventor of the zine---and pLopLop's influences, contributors and fellow DIY pioneers as we work together to explore and transform the rugged terrain of an increasingly homogenized world. pLopLop #12 will be released to coincide with the opening and available to purchase for $5.

http://www.ploplopzine.org/

The show runs through April 17.

Music by Normanoak and Pharm Accident will start at 9:30 p.m.


Wug's

cat·ty·wam·pus [kat-ee-wom-puhs]

–adjective
1. askew; awry.
2. positioned diagonally; cater-cornered.
–adverb
3. diagonally; obliquely.
-gallery opening
4. off kilter; abnormal: the body of work and life outlooks of four
fine arts students from Ivy Tech.

Cattywampus will be an exhibition of work by graduating students enrolled in the Fine Arts and Visual Communications program at Ivy Tech Community College, Central Indiana. This show will be curated by the students enrolled in ARTS 250: Senior Seminar.

Showcased will be the work of:
Ashley Brewer
Phil Cardenas
Rachel Foreman
Mckenzie Hogan

as well as selected student work from the Visual Communications Department. All works will be up from April 2nd to May 1st, 2010.
wLS&g is open Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4 p.m.



Five Seasons Studio Gallery

Approaches to Abstraction
works by Dave Voelpel

Voelpel's abstract work features predominately landscapes in both acrylic and oil. Known for his use of vibrant color, impasto and knife work, Voelpel has exhibited professionally for over 15 years. As a member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, his paintings have been displayed in shows in Indiana, Illinois, and Florida. Voelpel is also a member of and has exhibited with The Hoosier Salon and the Watercolor Society of Indiana. The artist's reception will be from 6 - 10 , Friday April 2 at Five Seasons Studio, 1125 Brookside Ave. in the Circle City Industrial Building (off 10th Street just east of College and the interstate) and is a part of IDADA's First Friday Art Walk. Voelpel's work will be on view for three weeks and may be seen by appointment by calling 345-3426.

Editors Note: I had the opportunity to head over to check out this showing before I left for NYC. I think my initial expectation was that these pieces would have been hung in more of a gallery like setting rather than presented in another artists crowded studio space. I feel that the work does suffer some from not have a good and proper gallery wall hanging so that the audience can better appreciate the works themselves. That said, I think you should go and see these works for yourself. If you are interested in more information though, you can check out Rachel Steele's recent blog post about it. Also check out some of the images from the show on her blog post as well. Follow this link.

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I was hoping to make it out to this event but instead I am writing this from New York City. You can expect to see more writing on this in the coming weeks as I plan on covering this new work when I arrive back in Indy. In the mean time, those of you who have nothing going on tonight, should head on over. Particularly if you are already a museum member. For those of you who are not, it will cost you $20. So, perhaps its time you become a member. With all the great things coming to the museum and all the events like this one they have going on each month, it will certainly be worth the price. Note: You may want to check out the IMA's site for purchasing your tickets in advance for tonight. Enjoy.




Tara Donovan: Untitled Opening Reception
Thursday, April 1 / 7:30-9:30pm
Pulliam Family Great HallPublic $20 / Members Free

Attend an exclusive preview and celebration of this extraordinary exhibition highlighting MacArthur Genius Award-winner Tara Donovan's layered landscape-like installations made from common everyday materials, such as plastic cups, tar paper, cut electrical cable, pencils and Elmer's glue. Cash bar and refreshments will be available.




From Artbabble.org: