Indianapolis has a newly installed resident along the banks of the White River. Donald Lipski’s new installation “The Tent” is a nice surprise for those who frequent the White River State Park’s plaza. The installation is playfully reminiscent of the Indianapolis Speedway’s checkered flag. The silver structure is unobtrusive against city skyline from the pedestrian bridge leading to the zoo.

The work is a gift from the 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization created to organize civic events celebrating the greatest race in the world, as part of the 50th Anniversary Legacy Art Project.

“I recalled seeing a video of the 500 Festival’s Mini-Marathon with the colors of the runners’ shirts bobbing up and down,” said Lipski in a press release from the 500 Festival. “I feel that ‘The Tent’, a symbol of community and coming together, captures the movement and excitement of all the Festival’s events.”

Seven Spades by Donald Lipski

Another Lipski work entitled “Seven Spades” can be found a few miles up the river at the IMA. Made of 100 small objects, each object is a separate sculpture created by combining everyday things. I spotted conglomerations of phone cord, birthday candles, spades playing cards, plastic rulers, a branch, Lipski’s American Express card, electric wire, bike reflectors, drinking straws and address labels from the Herron Gallery in Indianapolis. The work is a fine example of assemblage art and reminds me of discovering unknown tools in my grandfather’s barn as a child in northern Indiana.

Text referring to the piece reads: “In some combinations the impulse seems to be to destroy the object’s former use. In others the inspiration is joining similar forms.”

Both of Lipski’s works are site-specific and add an eclectic intimacy to the city’s riverside art collections.

According to a recent BBC News article citing a study by Heriot Watt University, music can enhance wine taste. On the same principle, can music enhance art taste? Does the taste of a one type of wine or the shade of a certain color wall effect your like or dislike for a work of art?

From my perspective, it must. A recent example of my user-experience comes from this year’s Indiana State Fair. Being a veteran 4-H’er, I’m always impressed at the increasing talent I see in the photography exhibit, including a creative/experimental category for those who like to play in the digital world. The photography exhibits are displayed in the same buildings, and bunched together on the same white walls, shrink wrapped in plastic just as they always have been. The smell of swine mixed with cotten candy wafts through the exhibit. It’s all part of the signature fair experience. I can only imagine what those photographs must look like framed on the wall of a home or art gallery with proper lighting and plenty of breathing room.

In a museum, exhibition design is usually a department unto itself. Wall colors, lighting and graphic design elements are selected with the goal of creating a canvas that best compliments an exhibition or individual work of art. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery does an exceptional job of making portraits pop, which got the attention of The Washington Post. Viewer experience is key. One sign of flattery is when visitors ask the museum staff for the specific paint number of a gallery so they can use it in their own homes. Sometimes, installation art and site-specific art does the work of the exhibit design team by taking into account the environment in which the work of art lives and the viewers’ total experience. In this way, the artist has more absolute control.

Should artists recommend the ideal environment in which to view their work, what song to listen to while looking at it, or what bottle to pop before feasting? Or should the viewer create their own unique experience or simply rely on the curator or museum to provide that for them?

Below are some works of art from the IMA. Share your music or wine recommendations for these or other favorite works:

• “Two Figures” 1968 sculpture by Barbara Hepworth
• “Phenomena Danger – Pass Left” by Paul Jenkins
• “Electric Chair” by Andy Warhol

Photo Credit: Hugh Talman, Smithsonian Institution
John Updike by Alex Katz; David Hockney Self-Portrait; Phil III by Chuck Close; and Self-Portrait with Liz by Red Grooms, as installed in “Americans Now,” National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.