Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

2008 is a defining year in political history with the culmination of months of campaigning, rhetoric and staging by the three final contenders for the next President of the United States: John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But which candidates truly mastered the art of portrayal? Their official campaign merchandise is a telling visual portrait of how they wish to be represented.

Beginning with McCain, he expresses his strong military background and personal heritage through his logo and with merchandise including a nautical lapel pin and Irish buttons. McCain also appeals to coalitions and branches of the armed forces through a variety of apparel. Perhaps the most noticeable difference from the other candidates is that McCain chooses to employ few images of himself. Clinton and Obama both have artists’ renderings of themselves for posters. McCain only uses unaltered photographs of himself on merchandise.

Next up is Clinton with her surprising portrait with “rising sun” found in the accessories section of her official campaign Web site’s online store. According to the site, this original Hillary Clinton print, designed by Hollywood screenwriter Tony Puryear (”Eraser”), is an exclusive to Hillarystore.com. The posters (there are two versions) are “Union printed in USA using 100% wind power and vegetable-based inks.”

“Senator Clinton is a beautiful, strong and inspiring woman, and I wanted to make a poster that reflected that. Rather than putting a slogan on the poster, I chose to put her name, because she is surely the only leader at this level with whom we are all on a first-name basis, and to me, that reflects her personal warmth and connection with ordinary Americans.” - Tony Puryear

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I AM A FASHION ADDICT.

It all started at an early age. As a young girl growing up in Southwestern Indiana, my Aunt Donna was far and away the most fashionable person I knew. She owned a few designer handbags, quite a few pairs of Ferragamo shoes, and an extensive jewelry collection. Always an impeccable dresser, she was the height of fashion in my young world.

20 years later, my passion for fashion has expanded significantly, but my Aunt is still at the heart of it all. I have inherited her shoes, her handbags, some of her jewelry, and most importantly, her appreciation for all things chic. I work hard at emulating her style. I’m not going to lie…I subscribe to 5 different fashion magazines. I also do my fair share of internet reading. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Web sites and blogs dedicated to fashion and I probably read about half of them.

Until recently I felt guilty about my style addiction. I only read www.style.com behind closed doors, because I felt it was frivolous and indulgent. However, with the opening of the IMA’s latest exhibition, Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the tutorial of the IMA’s curator of textile and fashion arts, Niloo Paydar, I have learned that my love for fashion is another variation of my passion for art. PHEW!…I’m not nearly as shallow and superficial as I thought I was! Read the rest of this entry »

The IMA has a new installation in the Efroymson Entrance Pavilion and I can’t remember the last time a work of art has brought me such child-like bliss. Every time I see it, I want to lie in the middle of the Museum’s entrance—arms and legs spread snow-angel style— and just stare up at the ceiling. While it seems like a strange way to look at art, it really is the best way to see Friends With You’s new installation, Dream Maker.

A giant mobile 40 feet across and almost equally as tall, Dream Maker is a sight to behold (even if you’re not laying flat in front of the ticketing counter as I was today to snap the above photograph). As you approach the Museum you can see the brightly colored structures floating in the entrance. Even when viewing it from the parking lot, the piece generates a sense of wonder and awe. But it isn’t until you walk under the structure that the true joy of Dream Maker hits you. It’s just unbelievably happy. Honestly, you can’t help but smile as it smiles at you. And who doesn’t want to see something that’s going to make them smile.

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This won’t be a long post, because I’m exhausted! It’s a good tired though, and I would not give up the last 48 hours for all the sleep in the world. Just yesterday morning I was gearing up for the art parade in Indianapolis, and now I’m in Denver at the American Association of Museum’s (AAM) annual conference. Phew…It’s been quite the whirlwind.

I’ve got exciting news to share from the Mile-High City…The IMA Dashboard received the top prize of gold at the 19th annual AAM Museum and Technology Committee Muse Awards. Just a few hours ago, I was happy to accept the award on behalf of the entire Museum and the amazingly talented IMA Web team that collaborated to produce the site.

The Muse award is the second news story from the IMA’s history-making weekend. The first, of course, was the parade on Saturday. As promised, the weather couldn’t have been better, and the air of Fountain Square was filled with an overwhelming excitement as hundreds of participants marched and hundreds of spectators watched art in the streets of Indianapolis. Check out images from the day by clicking here.

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I’ve been obsessed with the forecast this week. Almost every hour from sunrise to sunup, I’ve visited weather.com to assess the temperature and rain chance for Saturday. On Monday and Tuesday the forecast called for rain. Yesterday thing improved significantly when the chance for rain dropped from 40% to 20%. Today, all weather stations are calling for mid-60 degree temps with no rain in the afternoon. PHEW! Mother Nature apparently is a fan of the parade. And why wouldn’t she be? Music, art, families, and projects with such fun and fantastic names as: “A Bag of Bees,” “Cinderella in the City,” and “Revenge of the Pinatas,” there’s something for everyone this Saturday.

So here are my final thoughts for all my loyal parade-lovin’ readers:

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