A few weeks ago, when the weather was not as scorching as it’s predicted to be this week, I wandered outside for a walk around the lake with my camera after lunch. I had been out before earlier in the spring and created a great panorama from a set of photos that I had taken, but the sky was a bit overcast and the overall mood was somewhat gloomy.
Click on the image and drag the mouse to turn right or left.
The end of the long soccer season always signals the beginning of summer for me. So, when Manchester United got soundly beaten (2-0) by a technically superior FC Barcelona last night in Rome, I immediately turned my thoughts to the summer. As you may or may not know, I occasionally try to throw in some soccer talk when possible, and I try to make it somewhat relevant. In this case, it’s the teaser into some of the things we’re doing at the IMA this summer. Not bad, huh?
Based on the title of this post, expect a lot of different things from me today. Yesterday, in the midst of figuring out a post topic, I turned to Facebook & Twitter for topic suggestions. Some people responded with some thoughtful concepts, so I want to address those in some ways. “Woody Woodpecker” isn’t just being used as a clever title to get you to read my entry. Keep reading, its relevant. And I wanted to start with a quick shout out to On the Cusp, who just launched a new design for their site. I like it and I think you will too. Check out the new look and learn what’s going on in the local Indianapolis arts scene.
The NEW On the Cusp
I’m rather disappointed to have missed what was, no doubt, the most intellectually and aesthetically stimulating several days Indianapolis has seen in a while. However, in an attempt to prove that what I was doing in absentia was even slightly worthwhile, I will give a brief report of my trip to NYC last week.
First up was the Armory Show, which brought quite a few folks to New York last week. Like many, I have a conflicted relationship with art fairs. I continue to go to them, although the experience is a manic exercise in ambivalence: one is alternately perturbed by crowds of art socialites, happy to run into people one knows (which causes one to worry whether one is posing as an art socialite), worried the art might be decent but that the context is spoiling it, and elated and relieved when encountering a few strong artworks that stand out from the huddled thousands on display. I came away with the impression that much of the art presented at the Armory was decorative and generally uninspiring, although there were a few notable exceptions. I’m a fan of David Shrigley’s work, and there were a few good pieces on display at Anton Kern’s booth, including a most clever projected animation entitled Lightswitch (2007). Ronald Feldman Fine Arts played host to a witty boutique-within-a-boutique with Christine Hill’s The Volksboutique Armory Apothecary, for which the artist worked from behind a counter to dispense personalized remedies to the sundry ailments of visitors. I also had the pleasure of seeing my friend and accomplished video artist Lida Abdul, whose work was on view at the booth of Giorgio Persano Gallery.
Of the handful of satellite fairs also going on, I made it to Pulse and Volta (whose names sound rather ridiculous next to one another) and enjoyed poking around the booths with my most esteemed colleagues Lisa Freiman and Allison Unruh.
I’m celebrating 4 years at the IMA today and it’s hard not to reflect on that. It may not be a very long time in terms of a career, but it makes for a lot of audio, video and web projects, not to mention exhibitions and new innovative projects.
The first in-house video I worked on at the IMA was re-editing an African Pottery Techniques documentary shot in Burkina Faso. At the time, it was a pretty big step for the museum – to actually do this in-house, quickly, easily and for free. When I compare that to our latest video release on Orly Genger’s installation “Whole”, I kind of laugh. We shot this video in HD, incorporated Time Lapse, used a lift for certain shots and then published to YouTube. Check it out below.
(116)
(10)
(30)
(100)
(41)
(17)
(54)
(11)
(13)
(37)
(8)
(48)
(69)
(84)
(123)
(8)
(8)
(15)
(75)
(8)
(18)
(7)
