The IMA MAP employs high school sophomores and juniors during the spring and summer to explore what’s happening behind the scenes of the IMA, while working on projects alongside Museum staff. This year, the MAP teens are learning about 100 Acres, its inaugural artists and planning creative experiences that will encourage Park visitors to engage with nature, art and with one another.

Hello, my name is Ross and this is my first blog entry. My first experience of the museum is the same as anyone else’s. There are lots of different things that can be taken in, but they need to be taken in one at a time and can be viewed differently each time.

What I expect to get out of this experience is to learn about the different things the museum has to offer to someone who has rarely been in one [a museum].

Grounds at the IMA

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Education, Guest Bloggers

I had the great pleasure of attending the opening party for 100 Acres: the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park a couple of weeks ago.  It was a very festive celebration for Indy’s newest cultural attraction and all of the hard work and dedication it took to take it from concept to reality.  With the exception of a little soggy ground, due to the record June rains, the party went off without a hitch.  The Park is lovely!
The path from the IMA Main Building over to the park is short and sweet as it meanders through the gardens along the way.
Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Guest Bloggers

Hey,

Haven’t blogged in a while. Strange. Am a bit detached at this point with the opening of 100 Acres this weekend. But, that kinda makes sense. It’s the culmination of a long endeavor on my part, Type A’s part and, of course, the IMA and everyone who works (and has worked) to make the Art & Nature Park a reality. It’s at times like these that I get a bit detached. It’s a method of approaching exciting and nerve-racking times. Since there are so many ways in which this event can be “ruined,” it makes sense to take the good with the bad, as they say.

For example, the weather forecast for the opening weekend has been, how shall I say this, horrific. Maybe some people don’t mind 90 degree weather. But, add in storms and flooding…

Lisa Freiman says bring it on.

I could just get all upset and ask how could the weather gods let this be. But, it’s just a (bad) coincidence: crappy weather for an outdoor opening (paging Alanis Morissette). In any case, I could get upset or just take it in stride (I am throwing in a lot of cliches for some reason). It is as it is.

Strangely enough, this tactic of not taking things personally has led to quite a bit of introspection. Basically I go through a laundry list of the things that have happened in the time it’s taken to create and complete the project. Was Team Building successful? I’m gonna say yes. Will people notice? What kind of an effect will it have on my career? Come to think of it, where is my career now? There’s good momentum from 100 Acres. And we have a monograph out! But what’s next?

And, while we’re at it, how’s my personal life? It’s certainly different than when this project started. Well, for starters, I’m no longer married. Single dad time for me! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg (cliche alert #37). That I claim to let things go is not entirely true. It’s not true at all. In fact, it’s all personal. What to do? I can elevate the importance and get all prima donna about it.

Or…

I can think back to the whole point of the Team Building project, the whole reason for being involved with the IMA and 100 Acres in the first place.

Team Building with Type A

The experiential education elements shine through. I remember how experience occurs without an inherent value attached. Once through the experience, then all the thought processes and value placing begins. And it’s here that releasing the experience from all of that can be liberating. It makes it harder to sum up and convey, especially without the positive or negative elements that help turn the experience into anecdote. But it’s not about conveying; it’s about letting others have their experience and, if desired and possible, sharing in some way.

That’s what Type A attempted to capture in Team Building (Align). And it’s that sentiment, that modus operandi, that I am trying to apply to my pre-opening weekend jitters.

So, the park will be muddy and humid and hot and everyone’s hair will be frizzed out. Okay. And it will be stormy over the weekend and on the Summer Solstice, and clouds will block the sun from casting the ring’s shadow. Okay. In any case, the opening will continue and will be marked in a myriad of ways by everyone there. Hopefully we can share the experience communally and retain what’s important personally.

Life imitating art. Or is it the other way around?

Adam
Type A

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, Guest Bloggers

The IMA MAP employs high school sophomores and juniors during the spring and summer to explore what’s happening behind the scenes of the IMA, while working on projects alongside Museum staff. This year, the MAP teens are learning about 100 Acres, its inaugural artists and planning creative experiences that will encourage Park visitors to engage with nature, art and with one another.

Check back as the MAP teens will be blogging about their experiences with art, nature and other things that catch their interest.

Seeing how this is my first blog, I will be short and sweet.  My name is Annika but everyone calls me Joy.  I have respected art for a very long time but only just recently discovered my talent and overwhelming interest in it.

I have experimented in many types of art including photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, and media arts.  The job I recently took up at the IMA is an opportunity for me to expand my horizons and see art differently than before.

I hope to be working with the IMA for a long time.

Filed under: Education, Guest Bloggers

A few weeks ago I posted about design collaboration & Layers Tennis and how it would be fun to get something going here locally. Well, thankfully we have 4 designers from Indianapolis who want to participate!

This is a little introduction… then each week we will post an update with the design volleys. If you are still confused, the video below should give you a clearer picture of what to expect. (It’s a compilation video of the entire Exhibition Season of Layer Tennis edited down to just 130 seconds.

I asked each designer to give me a bio introducing themselves to give a bit of background. We’ll be posting each of our volley’s up once a week and we’ll do a poll to find out who’s pixels will reign supreme.

The image below was given (a higher res version of course) to the first designer as the starting point. I can’t wait to get started!

The image was taken in the IMA's 100 Acres Art and Nature Park

Designer bios after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Design, Guest Bloggers, Local, New Media