- July 31st, 2008
- Filed under Art, Exhibitions, Local, Polls
Taking concepts from philanthropy and social activism, entrepreneurship, the Underground Railroad and the music of Naptown, to The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Nascar, going green, public art, gas prices and a hypothetical mass transit system, artist Chakaia Booker has ignited conversation pieces on Indianapolis’s sidewalks. By cutting, twisting and weaving together rubber tires, Booker has fashioned a temporary urban art exhibition specifically for Indy, removing the road block between the city’s past and present.
Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit is a project of Public Art Indianapolis, which is managed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis. I asked Mindy Taylor Ross, Director of Public Art for the Arts Council, to share her favorite sculpture from the exhibition:
I have three works in the running at the moment – “Gridlock” at the Simon building, “Take Out” on Market Street and “Holler” at iMoca. I believe they are all good examples of the incredible texture and form artists can make with material. You can see Booker’s unique voice in the material. They are also interactive so you can look or move through elements of these pieces.
Pick your favorite work of art in the poll below, and share your connection to it in the comments section of this post. Be sure to visit iMoca to see Chakaia Booker: The Making of a Public Art Exhibition.
Which Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit exhibition sculpture do you like best?
- 4. Take Out (22%, 15 Votes)
- 2. Layover (18%, 12 Votes)
- 7. Holler (18%, 12 Votes)
- 1. Plus or Minus? (12%, 8 Votes)
- 8. Gridlock (7%, 5 Votes)
- 6. Pass the Buck (7%, 5 Votes)
- 5. Sustainable Hope (7%, 5 Votes)
- 3. One Way (3%, 2 Votes)
- 9. Tailgating (3%, 2 Votes)
- 10. Cross Over Effects (3%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 67
Loading ...Photo credit: “Cross Over Effects” image courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:48 am
“Holler” makes me think of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street popping up out of his trash can to give passersby a piece of his mind!
July 31st, 2008 at 8:21 am
Plus or Minus? gives me the impression that a giant has set a lantern down beside the road.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:36 am
It’s very cool that Plus and Minus has a tie to the Underground Railroad. Makes you want to stop and think about what it was like to be under that location passing by with a lantern in hand. I love that she thought about that.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:56 am
I’m digging this exhibit across town! I love Pass the Buck–I could wander around it in circles for a long time…
Would you mind adding the locations of these to the pics? I’ve seen a few, and can figure out some of them, but want to make sure I can find them all in person!
July 31st, 2008 at 10:06 am
You can download a map here. I’ve also listed the locations below:
1. Plus or Minus?: Washington and Meridian
2. Layover: Monument Circle
3. One Way: Chase Tower, Monument Circle and East Market St
4. Take Out: Delaware and East Market St
5. Sustainable Hope: First Indiana Plaza, Pennsylvania and Ohio St
6. Pass the Buck: University Park, across from Meridian and New York St
7. Holler: iMoca, Indiana and Senate Ave
8. Gridlock: Washington St and Capitol Ave
9. Tailgating: Illinois and Maryland St
10. Cross Over Effects: The Indianapolis Art Center at 820 E. 67th St.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:00 am
Thanks for sharing – I hadn’t seen them all in person yet!
July 31st, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I like the one with the guy in the red shirt. Nice contrast.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
It’s interesting that I voted for Take Out, which seems to be leading. I’m usually a contemporary art contrarian.
I’ll admit my skepticism about the exhibit, but I am pleasantly surprised by the pieces. I think I’ve seen them all. They seem to be getting good interaction from passers by. And I even saw a bride and groom getting their picture taken in front of the One Way piece on the Circle.
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
We really like sustainable hope.