On April 5, Ai Weiwei: According to What?—the IMA’s latest featured exhibition—opened to the public. A major retrospective of the artist’s work, this not-to-be-missed exhibition includes examples from the broad spectrum of the artist’s practice, which encompasses sculpture, photography, video, and site-specific architectural installations, as well as the design for the “Bird’s Nest” stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Walking past some of the works in the show, visitors may be inspired to learn more about the man who created these pieces and the circumstances that drove him to do so. In conjunction with the exhibition, the IMA is employing new in-gallery technology to facilitate these inquiries and help audiences engage with the work of this extraordinary artist.
For those who haven’t heard, Ai Weiwei: According to What? opened last week at the IMA. Ai Weiwei is a revolutionary artist and activist, known for his constant battle against Chinese government. Ai’s works tell a story—a story of oppression, political corruption, and a fight for equality. But to fully understand the context in which his works were created, a little reading may be required. Take a look at the links posted below to learn more about Ai Weiwei. The articles will provide a little extra insight into Ai and his works.
And of course, visit the IMA to experience Ai’s works. Like the ‘reading the book before watching the movie rule,’ the links provided will help you better understand the complete story of Ai Weiwei.
Department: Publishing & Media | Posted By Rachel Craft | Comments Off
Dec 06 2012
The exhibition Graphite, opening tonight at the IMA, explores the vast artistic potential of a material most often associated with more traditional approaches to drawing. Its flexibility - whether it’s powder, liquid, machined, carved, or pencil – is mirrored in each artist’s unique approach to the material in their work. Below are quotes from a selection of the artists in the exhibition that highlight this range in perspective:
“What I like most about graphite, in the way I use it, is its ability to transform the surface or object to which you’re applying or transferring it.” – Dan Shaw-Town
“And drawing, especially with graphite, is one of the few things that you can control yourself. You can do what you want. And so it was a way of making this world that is comfortable for me.” - Kim Jones
“I want to be drawing these images because I love them more than any other imagery.” – Dan Fischer
“Graphite is material that in both industrial usage and culture holds and neutralizes energy. When I was asked to be in the exhibition, I was really interested in this kind of alternate, inert quality of the material. So rather than thinking about it as a traditional artistic tool, I started to think about it conceptually and was taken by this idea of pulling in and holding energy—in this case, a kind of societal, psychic energy.” – Geof Oppenheimer (Come hear more from Geof tomorrow at noon during a lunchtime lecture in the galleries).
“I find there’s an exacting capacity to the point of the graphite pencil that, when fully attended to, reveals the inevitable limits of precision and control of the hand.” – Judith Braun
“I think what I’m doing is observational drawing. I’m just not drawing the objects that people typically think of as the things an artist draws from observation.” - Molly Springfield
“The conductivity of graphite has been central to developing the possibilities for the relationship between form, function, and materiality that characterizes these drawings.” – Joyce Hinterding
“I think I chose drawing because I was interested in that basic human connection. I drew as a child, sure, but I consciously chose drawing as an adult artist. There was a break in there where I came to recognize drawing as its own entity.” – Karl Haendel
“Every one of those drawings is the result of a different gesture or technique. They all come together because they share the same medium, same format, same paper.” – Roland Flexner
“What’s interesting about the technique I use with the graphite is the similarity there is to processing a photograph in the darkroom, where the light and dark values can be manipulated by the exposure time.” – T.R. Ericsson
An accompanying digital catalogue will launch this January and will feature a wealth of in-depth material about their work and use of graphite, including interviews with the artists, videos of their installations, a scientific analysis of the material, and much (much) more.
The ballots have been counted, the election results are in and Diane Sawyer is likely recovering from a hangover. It’s been a long campaign season and yet many of us are sad to see its end. When you’ve spent the last 6 months eating dinner with the same political ads, and then one night they just don’t show up, you may feel lost. You may not know what to talk about around the watercooler, or what to debate about on Facebook. The world as you know it stops and all you’re left with is PED – post-election depression.
Thanks to the humor of an old Englishman, we have a cure for you. William Hogarth (1697-1764), known around here as the painter of comic history, was born in London and rarely strayed from his beloved city. Overcrowded with a million people, London provided a limitless source of subjects for his observant eye and sharp wit.
Department: Publishing & Media | Posted By Emily | Comments Off
Nov 02 2012
What are the physical manifestations of faith? How does what we believe affect the objects that we use in our everyday life?
The IMA’s opening of Beauty & Belief today brings more than 250 works of art to Indianapolis for a survey of Islamic art that spans the globe and sixteen centuries. It’s the first show of its kind in Indianapolis and an important window into a new world for the people of Indianapolis. In between meetings in a busy installation schedule, I sat down with curator Sabiha al Khemir to discuss the themes of the exhibition and she shared some core concepts for visitors to the show. You can check out the series of videos about Beauty & Belief here.
We also have two works of art from our collection in the exhibition, a luminous blue bowl covered with a parade of animals and a bowl fragment with a painted horse and rider.
