I’m the Mayor of the IMA.

And I don’t wanna brag, but I also happen to be the Mayor of 100 Acres and Nourish Cafe. Bet you didn’t know I was such a big shot, did you? Now gimme your lunch money.

You don’t recall voting, so how did I end up in office? By frequently “checking in” on the social media app. Foursquare, via my smart phone. And get this: I checked in to the IMA on Foursquare last week and to my surprise, received this badge:

I have to admit, I was slightly offended. Until I actually looked up what it meant: A zoetrope, which means ‘wheel of life’ in Greek,  is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static picture. So basically, a motion picture.

So how is it I won this badge by frequenting an art museum? Oh, well yes.  The IMA does offer quite a bit for the film buff. And I’m not just talkin’ The Toby.

Part of the 40^th Annual Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration, the IBE Film Fest features the artistry of established and emerging filmmakers creating non-Hollywood productions on subjects relevant to the African-American experience.

Indianapolis International Film Festival

July 15-July 25: DeBoest Lecture Hall & The Toby

The 2010 Indy Film Fest partners with the IMA to host another world-class selection of independent films, actors and directors from around the globe. This year’s line-up includes films from both award-winning professionals and emerging filmmakers, ranging from short-subject documentaries to full-length feature films.

Summer Nights Film Series

June 4- August 27: IMA’s Outdoor Amphitheater

From June 4 to August 27, the IMA will be screening films every Friday in its outdoor amphitheater, located on the west side of the Museum.  The 2010 series includes films from six different decades. This week’s film is Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful classic North by Northwest.

So whatever you are: film-buff, videophile, movie-junkie or zoetrope… we’ve got what you need. And we promise not to call you any names.

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Film, Local, New Media, The Toby

Danny and I joined Manager of Horticulture, Chad Franer down at the IMA’s bee hives today to shoot some bee footage. Wow, I learned a lot about bees. Check out Irvin’s post here if you wanna know more about the IMA’s hives.

Danny filming Chad and the bees

Sweet.

Filed under: Horticulture

Can you feel it? Yep, spring is officially only a few days away. It’s in the air, people.

When I think of spring, I think of robins. Ever since I can remember, my mom and Nana had a contest every year to see who could spot the first robin. Forget that scrawny groundhog, the first red-breasted robin hopping around in the grass (or snow) meant warmer weather was just around the corner.

Here are a few works from our collection that remind me strongly of spring. What says ‘spring’ to you?

Birds | (verso) Studies for a Woman in a Hat

More!

Three Flying Birds

Filed under: Art, Musings

I grabbed an interview with Kirk Trevor and Jared Rodin from the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra just after the first of only three rehearsals before their big performance in The Toby tonight. It’s quite a challenge for the 30-piece orchestra to play a live score in time with a silent film. Here’s a behind the scenes (or should I say ‘from the pit’) look at the challenges they’ll face…

Event details:

Safety Last! with One Week

• Friday, February 26– 7:30pm
• The Toby
• Live score performed by the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra

Filed under: Current Events, IMA TV, New Media, Public Programs, The Toby

Since the weather here in Indiana is kinda nasty right now, instead of complaining, I thought it might be a positive exercise to conjure up some images of far away places I’ve traveled.

The truth is, I really haven’t traveled that much in my life. Part of that has to do with the fact that I’m afraid of flying (like really really afraid.) But, for the sake of ArtBabble, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Los Angeles last May. Fellow Nugget Danny and I documented the whole experience with photos and video. On our trip we met a lot of interesting people and dogs and enjoyed the sunshine, the warm weather, and (Danny especially) fresh tacos.

The reason we traveled was to film on location the construction of Andrea Zittel’s project, a large floating island to be installed in the lake of 100 Acres back in Indy. The island was fabricated by Barnacle Bros studio in East L.A. where upon arrival, we were greeted by a cast of characters led by a heavily tattooed man known as Smilee Barnacle. They brought us up to speed on the project and led us around the work shop,  which looked more like a carnival parade storage room than any kind of studio! The interview we did with Smilee turned out to be pretty hilarious:

And here are some pictures I snapped throughout the day. You can find more here.

That's Danny filming Smilee and crew

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Travel