Taking concepts from philanthropy and social activism, entrepreneurship, the Underground Railroad and the music of Naptown, to The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Nascar, going green, public art, gas prices and a hypothetical mass transit system, artist Chakaia Booker has ignited conversation pieces on Indianapolis’s sidewalks. By cutting, twisting and weaving together rubber tires, Booker has fashioned a temporary urban art exhibition specifically for Indy, removing the road block between the city’s past and present.

Chakaia Booker: Mass Transit is a project of Public Art Indianapolis, which is managed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis. I asked Mindy Taylor Ross, Director of Public Art for the Arts Council, to share her favorite sculpture from the exhibition:

I have three works in the running at the moment – “Gridlock” at the Simon building, “Take Out” on Market Street and “Holler” at iMoca. I believe they are all good examples of the incredible texture and form artists can make with material. You can see Booker’s unique voice in the material. They are also interactive so you can look or move through elements of these pieces.

Pick your favorite work of art in the poll below, and share your connection to it in the comments section of this post. Be sure to visit iMoca to see Chakaia Booker: The Making of a Public Art Exhibition.

Photo credit: “Cross Over Effects” image courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York.

This Saturday, I was looking forward to meeting Ann. I had heard about her, in the papers and on the blogs. As I approached the intersection of Mass Ave, Vermont and Alabama Streets, her glowing body beckoned me closer (think A Christmas Story and “major award”). Sensual sways hypnotized. I was fascinated by her, really.

“Ann Dancing,” by internationally celebrated artist Julian Opie, was installed in January as part of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Unfortunately, I missed last year’s “Julian Opie: Signs” invasion of Downtown (though our DC friends were enthralled by the Opie walk sign when visiting). You may have seen one of the 11 works of art in this series at the IMA, installed in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion, called Pacing.

According to the Arts Council of Indianapolis, Ann’s LED (Light Emitting Display) concept is not new, but her clothes and dance are unique to our city. The Cultural Trail’s press release quotes Opie as saying,

“I am really happy that ‘Ann Dancing’ will be in Indianapolis and become part of the street fabric. As I sit in my studio in London, I think of her endlessly dancing for the passing traffic.”

As I sat in Starbucks and watched Ann, all four of her, dancing on the corner, I felt empathy for her. Was she lonely? Maybe bored? Living on a bike and pedestrian trail, she certainly emits an eduring energy, but maybe she would like a pair of rollerblades? A bike or a ball? How about some friends to jog with?

Perhaps this summer, she’ll come across a crowd in the mood to dance…

(Check out this public art locator for more.)