Perusing the IMA’s collection for a Thanksgiving appropriate work of art, I came across a number of beautiful images of family and food, both presidential and otherwise.  I actually realized we have quite the collection of Lincoln-focused prints…more on that in a future post.  However, I thought this work by Vito Acconci could be an interesting interpretation of the holiday:

Vito Acconci, “Round Trip (A Space to Fall Back On),” 1975. materials stools, boxes, audio tape. Gift of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. 1989.35.

The installation Round Trip (A Space to Fall Back On) echoes a space found within a traditional home, but quickly distorts your feeling of domestic comfort.  A viewer sitting on the stool in the center is disoriented by the placement of objects and a blinding light — a woozy effect that might not be too far from our post-meal haze on Thanksgiving.  Noises, such as the artist’s voice and knocking, move throughout the space, competing for the visitor’s attention and adding to the general sense of unbalance.  Sounds a bit like the cacophony and confusion of a big family gathering, doesn’t it?  Acconci plunges the visitor into the experience, controlling his or her sense of space by “inserting unexpected color, sensory experiences, and laws of physics into the gallery.”  Now if that doesn’t sum up Thanksgiving, I don’t know what does.  Here’s wishing you a day of blissful disorientation and the cacophonous sounds of family and friends.

Filed under: Contemporary, The Collection

Creating a one-hour work of art in a large outdoor setting for an unknown-sized audience was quite a challenge.  What could I create that wouldn’t be swallowed up by the scale of the setting?  How could I keep an audience interested for that length of time without the focus that comes with presenting a work in a theater?

Several months and ideas later, I decided to create a sculpture and drawing in performance that would leave a tactile and visual record of its own making.

To create the sculpture, we used the audience and the surrounding trees as our loom. We wended our way over, under, and around them as our white hand-knit dresses unraveled into an increasingly large and complex web.

I used chalk, typically used to mark large fields like the meadow for sporting events, to create the drawing.  The idea was to create constellations whose shape would be determined by connecting audience members to one another. Most of the audience took cover in the shade rather than on the perimeter as I had hoped, making the constellation drawings difficult to render.  The parched grass also made the chalk lines nearly invisible.

This performance was a reminder of the medium’s vulnerability. Certain variables can only be worked out in performance, which is both thrilling and terrifying. The unknown is multiplied when the work calls for audience participation. One never knows if people will participate and how. I would like to thank all of the viewers who stood in the blazing sun for an hour to participate, and to Lisa Freiman and everyone at the IMA for this wonderful challenge.

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Contemporary

In the spring of 1962, the Herron Museum of Art director Wilbur Peat wrote an astounding defense for collecting contemporary art in encyclopedic museums. Even today, his appeal remains fresh and compelling. To announce the formation of the Contemporary Art Society, he explained:

… Traditionally, art museums have been thought of as archaeological storehouses, however artistic the paintings or objects might be, rather than places of inspiration and information for people who are as much interested in the arts of their own time as in those of the past . . . to assume that the only artistic works of men [sic] which are worth displaying in a museum are those produced a century or a millennium ago is not valid, in view of the real function of a museum as an educational and cultural center of a modern community.

The Contemporary Art Society helped build the visionary groundwork for collecting contemporary art beginning in 1962 until 1985, when the IMA formally established its Contemporary Art department. Since then, CAS has worked hand in hand with the IMA to add important acquisitions to the permanent collection. However, because the IMA missed opportunities to buy contemporary art when it was being made in the 1940s-1960s, it has large, critical gaps in the collection. To avoid repeating that history of overlooking key works of art, we are committed to buying affordable works in a timely manner so that our collection can grow in terms of its depth and breadth going forward.

A CAS acquisition highlight. — Tim Hawkinson, “Möbius Ship,” 2006. Contemporary Art Society Fund, Koch Contemporary Art Purchase Fund and Purchased with funds provided by Michelle and Perry Griffith.

For me, there is nothing like seeing an art work for the first time: its immediacy and the way it makes me think about the world afresh. Art is a system of languages with a multitude of dialects, and every art work sparks a new conversation that encourages us to rethink our assumptions about ourselves and the world around us, and to see the complexity and multiplicity of meanings within both. When it’s really compelling, art can teach us to see the beauty in ugliness and the ugliness in beauty.

Art also has the power to coax us into action, and fight injustice, prejudice, or inequality. It might reconnect us to nature while simultaneously asking the question, what is nature, really? Art might offend our egos, but it can also heal our souls. It might confuse us so that we forget the name of the object we see. It can be ironic, humorous, and transcendent, and at times, all three. It might cause us to celebrate a shadow, a moment, or an idea, no matter how audacious or fragile.

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the CAS, the Indianapolis Museum of Art is trying to increase CAS membership to 150 members by May 2013. We also hope to raise $50,000 to augment the CAS acquisition fund, which has and continues to be one of the major ways that the IMA can purchase works of art in a timely, strategic, and responsive matter. Please join me in helping to ensure that the IMA can keep building its reputation as one of the most dynamic contemporary art programs in the United States.  Contemporary art can help our community grow and advance today, just as much as it did 50 years ago. Contemporary art can inspire us to dream big and to transform our city.

Filed under: Contemporary

Herbert and Dorothy Vogel at home in New York City, from “Herb & Dorothy,” a 2009 Arthouse Films Release.

The beloved art collector Herbert Vogel passed away yesterday at 89 years old. Herb and his wife Dorothy amassed an unprecedented collection of contemporary art with their modest incomes in public service. The couple married in 1962, and the five decades they shared were shaped by their passionate pursuit for the acquisition and understanding of the most innovative art of their time.

Herb and Dorothy developed personal connections with artists through frequent studio visits and rigorous conversations. Through these friendships, they were often able to acquire works at significantly discounted prices or on payment plans, sometimes as little as $10 a month. It’s frequently mentioned that Herb and Dorothy collected intuitively, without much thought about how individual pieces would fit into their collection. Over the years, every surface of their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment became a place for displaying art, and when the walls and ceilings were covered, large storage crates displaced their living room furniture.

The Vogels’ bedroom with works by Leo Valledor, Gary Stephan, Richard Tuttle, Robert Mangold, Alan Saret, Ron Gorchov, Joseph Kosuth, Vito Acconci, Joseph Beuys, and Peter Hutchinson, among others, c. 1975. Photographer unknown.

As they aged, Herb and Dorothy began to think about the future of their unique collection, and the pair entered into a partnership with the National Gallery of Art. Due the astounding size of their collection, which had grown to include roughly 4000 works, the National Gallery of Art launched the program “Fifty Works for Fifty States,” which dispersed 2500 artworks to public collections across the country. One museum in each state was chosen by Herb and Dorothy to receive 50 carefully selected works that accentuated the permanent collection of the institution. The IMA was honored to accept these gifts—including works by Lynda Benglis, Robert Mangold, Edda Renouf, and Richard Tuttle—which were displayed in the 2008 exhibition titled Collected Thoughts.

Many in Indianapolis had the pleasure of getting to know Herb. Works from their collection were featured in the 1993 exhibition The Poetry of Form: Richard Tuttle Drawings from the Vogel Collection, and in 2003 the couple participated in a public conversation with former IMA director Bret Waller. I was fortunate to meet Herb and Dorothy when they attended the opening of Collected Thoughts.  As a junior in college and a new intern at the IMA, I found their quiet dedication deeply inspiring, especially at a time when I was grappling with the practicalities of an uncertain future in the arts during a recession. My conversation with the Vogels was incredibly brief (I was one in a long line of people waiting to meet them), and I didn’t mention my trepidation; but I wonder if Herb sensed it, because he urged me to stay the course and reminded me that contemporary art could always use another champion.

Filed under: Art, Contemporary

If you have recently enjoyed the many splendors of 100 Acres, you may have noticed that Funky Bones and Chop Stick have a new neighbor to get used to. A. Bitterman is the resident artist on Indy Island and he has had no problem making himself comfortable in his new home/habitat. The best example of this that comes to mind is a giant animal trap, complete with armchair, side table, and lamp. This cage, seemingly meant for a mutant possum is, in fact, a habitat restoration area for our dear A. Bitterman. Along with his posh lounge area, you may also stumble across a GPS tracking station, interpretive kiosk, viewing station, or an area of unmediated flux. If you are lucky enough to have a chance encounter with the artist, do not be confused/creeped-out if he is:

1. Not talking
2. Taking food from strangers
3. Throwing an imaginary ball
4. Wearing a beaver suit

However, if you choose not to track down the artist during your day visit, then we have something else you might be interested in. A. Bitterman is opening up his igloo to guests in the evenings for movie showings. Reservations can be made online and it’s free…in the monetary sense of the word. All he asks is that you bring him dinner or dessert in exchange for the ultimate cinematic experience of a lifetime. I say this with great gusto because just last evening I made brownies for Bitterman and enjoyed the ultimate cinematic experience of a lifetime for myself…

Slowly raise your right hand, palm facing outward. Wait for artist to mimic gesture with corresponding hand. Raise left hand, palm facing outward. Wait for artist to mimic gesture with corresponding hand. Once both pairs of hands are in proper position, slowly lower both hands so as to make a circle. Take one step backward, clap once. “You have now greeted the artist and may attempt another exchange.”

The journey begins…

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Contemporary