Do you have any memories related to Robert Indiana’s Love sculptures? Or Anish Kapoor’s “Bean” in Chicago? What about Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s saffron-colored gates in New York’s central park? How about one of those giant spiders by Louise Bourgeois…or those cows on parade? Did you ever take a picture with one of these or another public art work? Well, I surely have (see me below). Something about the interactive nature of public art, and the feeling that it informally exists in its spot for me, rather than for a gallery space or for someone’s wall, really helps me enjoy public art. And I think regardless of if you like a piece or don’t, it inevitably makes you aware of your space, your participation in it, and someone’s efforts to enrich or change it. As a friend recently reminded me, these works at least make you ask, “Why is this here?”

Saying hello to a Juan Munoz sculpture

The definition of public art differs depending on whom you ask and why you are asking. For example, must the government supply the funding for a project to officially be labeled as public art? Is graffiti public art (see also: Banksy)? Is my neighbor’s daughter’s sidewalk drawing a piece of public art? Is the Love sculpture even public art if it sits on the Museum’s private property? Raquel Laneria sheds some light on this murkiness in her Forbes article “Why We Love – And Need – Public Art.” But whatever the official definition – to me, its an art work in a public space that I can personally access – and I agree with those “nonprofits, federal organizations and private investors who believe it is something indispensable to city life,” and with Darren Walker, who is quoted in the article as having said, “public art is a public good.”

My collage of art, found within a three-block stretch of Washington Street in Indianapolis.

I recently attended the walking tour of George Rickey: An Evolution (I highly recommend it – the last guided tour is August 16) in downtown Indianapolis. Our guide, Mindy Taylor-Ross, prefaced the tour with some Arts Council info and mentioned that Indy was at one time pursuing a ‘percent-for-art ordinance,’ which would provide a more or less stable (though small) funding source for public art in Indianapolis. Many other cities, including Seattle and Chicago, already have similar ordinances. A percent-for-art ordinance states that a percentage of publicly funded capital improvement projects (usually between .5 and 2%) is reserved for the commissioning of public artworks, which generally end up inside the building or on its outlaying property. In my interpretation, this ensures that as long as the city spends money on building projects, public art projects will exists in these spaces. While I’m sure there are a lot of politics and red tape involved in this process, theoretically, this is a good idea. Though with the current government leadership such legislature is likely not a priority, perhaps it could be pursued once more when times are less rough. The Project for Public Spaces website indicates a few other funding sources for public art – public/private sector collaborations, percent and non-percent for art programs, soliciting developer participation, and several other alternatives.

For fun, I polled some friends to find out their favorite and least favorite public art works. Many respondents voluntarily said that the reason they liked it was because they can still vividly see it when they think about it. Pretty cool.

“Loved it”
Eero Saarinen, Gateway Arch (the St. Louis Arch); J. Seward Johnson Jr, The Awakening; Juame Plensa, Crown Fountain; James Yamada, Our Starry Night; Igor Mitoraj, Tindaro Screpolato; the Pineapple Fountain in Charleston, SC; Jim Benedict, Forks, Cheese, Hangers; Magdelena Abakanowicz, Agora.

“Not so much”
Julian Opie, Ann Dancing; Pablo Picasso, Untitled, Chicago. (especially with the baseball caps); Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, Big Sweep.

What public art works do you like or dislike?

The Awakening

So now that I have ventured south and summer is just about here, I am anxious to explore the cultural happenings of Indianapolis this summer. I’ve turned to my ever trustworthy colleagues, who know the city better than I, to find out what it is that I should not miss.

Charlie & Phil – Both agree that the Indy 500 (May 24), The Brickyard (July 26) and the Rib America Festival (Sept. 4-7) are some of the summer’s best. I think I’ll skip the actual consumption of ribs, but for $5 and tons of live music, Ribfest sounds like a good choice.

Kate – The Indy Jazz Festival (Sept. 21-27) is Kate’s favorite. I didn’t know this was a week-long event – and with Rob Dixon on board as one of its leaders this is definitely going on my list.

Daniel & Ed – Called “The Best Four Days in Gaming”, Daniel and Ed both like Gen Con Indy (Aug. 13-16). I’ll be honest and say that I had never heard of this before, but it sounds like a pretty big deal. Daniel shared some photos and it looks like these people seriously know how to party.

Gen Con 2008

Noelle – Another IndyCar Series race fan, Noelle’s second pick for summer is the annual Independent Music + Art Festival (June 13). Local musicians, visual artists and other “independents” come together for an all day outdoor festival. I’m all for enjoying free, original live music and shopping for art.

Matt G – Matt’s favorite Indy event is actually in the Winter, The Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest. (For those who like wheat beers better than winter ales, Kate informed me that there is a Summer equivelent to this event on July 18, in Broadripple). Another event Matt likes is Oranje, a contemporary art and music event focused on creating a stimulating and interactive art and music experience. With the tagline “Indulge Your Senses”, this event might take the Gold for an absolute must check out. The website hasn’t been updated with the 2009 schedule, but hopefully it will be soon!

And last, but certainly not least, a couple of my colleagues mentioned the IMA’s Summer Nights as an essential part of their Indianapolis summer experience. With films like The Goonies (July 3) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (July 24), how could it not be?

As this Saturday’s graduation marks the completion of my Masters degree and thereby the end of my internship here at the IMA, this will be my last blog post. But I do hope to see all of you at some of these great summer events! Who knows, maybe I’ll even show up in costume.

Rocky Horror