Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

The IMA rarely has the luxury of reframing the paintings in its collection, since funds to pay for new frames are not readily available. A frame is an important part of a painting that serves not only to enhance the image but also to protect it.  Several paintings at the IMA have unsuitable frames that do nothing to enhance the beauty of the work and may actually detract from it.  One of those paintings is Abbott Thayer’s 1886 Still Life, a simple but lush depiction of a peony in a pewter-lined copper bowl.  This spare but dramatic still life was in a deteriorating reproduction frame that had a negative affect on the painting.

Last year the work appeared in the exhibition American Art and the East at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.  It was seen by Eli Wilner, a leading frame dealer and restorer, who noticed that the frame did not show the painting to its best advantage.  Mr. Wilner contacted the IMA and made a proposal to reframe the painting for a minimal payment from the museum.  The IMA was being given the opportunity to obtain a museum quality frame that we would not have been able to purchase if Mr. Wilner had not offered to donate most of its cost.

A comparison of Thayer’s still life before and after reframing shows a stunning transformation in the presentation of the painting.  It is now surrounded by a frame that resembles those of the period in which it was created and one that brings out the beauty of the image.  Mr. Wilner has offered to help the IMA reframe additional paintings with his support, so we are hoping that we will be able to take advantage of this very generous offer in the future.

The next time you are visiting the IMA come to the American galleries and see the Abbott Thayer still life in its new frame and experience what the appropriate frame can do for a painting.

How do you make a magazine that captures the essence of a museum and theater, two historical estates, acres of glorious gardens and grounds, and a soon-to-be art and nature park? This is the question that has been on the top of my mind lately. It’s challenging, yet fun, to envision a magazine that entices readers to toss it aside half way through and come see for themselves. A magazine that demonstrates our mission and shows donors where their money is going. A magazine that the community sees themselves in and readers oceans away find engaging through online connections.

I sat down with IMA Senior Graphic Designer Matthew Taylor last week in the Design Studio to take a hard look at our current IMA membership magazine (Previews) and talk content and design. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more complex software projects we have undertook at the IMA happens to be the one we talk least about publicly. Athena, is a Project Management System created by the IMA back in late 2007. At the time, there was a lack of a good open source solution and online commercial alternatives did not allow us to own the data. It also was our first chance to cut our Drupal teeth. I’m happy to look back at 18 months and see that it has been used quite successfully by most of the staff (and a lot of non-staff).

A view of a user dashboard

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Phil’s Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

CoolHunting.com – With its emphasis on “ideas and products in the intersection of art, design, culture and technology,” CoolHunting just may be the site I’ve always been looking for. New, neat, and interesting stuff is posted frequently and with a PageRank of 7, I’m totally stumped as to why I’ve never seen this site until now. As for some content on the site that I think is worth a look, I’m into lighting artist, Marcus Tremonto’s The Paper Landscapes which reminds me of a little Tara Donovan mixed with Tron mixed with Portal. Also on CoolHunting, Ryan McGinness’s recent show that I’m now only able to experience via the web.

blublu.org – Home to a very cool stop motion animation film called MUTO that was created on regular old public walls. Street art mixed with stop motion is very satisfying.

Tweetingtoohard.com – I’m pretty self absorbed. However, I don’t think my Internet fans are able to tell that from my tweets. I should get on that. Until then, here’s a page with a stream of hilarious Twitter updates from users that Tweeting too Hard has identified as self important. A taste, “fan belt light came on in the 911 so now I’m driving the Cayenne Turbo S – the backup, backup car. Trying not to think about the Tesla…”

Monday Music – “Ecology” by Anni Rossi. She’s playing tonight at the Wexner Center for the Arts with Camera Obscura. I’ll be there.

I’m sorry. I know I’m supposed to be used to whatever nature throws my way. But really, 90-plus degrees in June? That’s just hateful. Hateful. I live in Indiana. I know the deal. It can be freezing one night and 80 a day or two later. I know to accept the weather. I – know – to – accept – the – weather. Knowing and doing ain’t always in sync. I love my tropicals and summer annuals and this weather is ideal for them. I want big bananas. I need big banana heat. The fact is though, normal June temps of 80 or so are just fine for growing bananas. I’m not freakin’ Carmen Miranda trying to grow a new hat.

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