While many people stay at home and listen to the radio, hundreds of thousands more pour into the track every year as spectators. As the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in history, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can hold more than 400,000 fans. That means in one day the track gets as many visitors as the IMA does in an entire year. That’s amazing!

So, what is it that race cars have that art doesn’t? Is it the rich history of the race? Maybe, but the IMA has actually been around 26 years longer. In fact, both the track and the IMA’s Lilly House are listed as National Historic Landmarks. Is it the IMS’s marketing team? I know they are good. but I don’t think that we can chalk this up entirely to advertising. Maybe it’s the food at the track? A giant turkey leg does sound tempting, but so too does a big Wolfgang Puck’s pizza. I think it has to be the goose-bump factor? As mentioned above, there’s something about the race that causes my blood to start pumping faster and the hairs on my neck to stick up. The thrill of the event may be enough to attract 400,000 folks. But, I will say I still don’t think race cars have a leg up on art in this case.

In my lifetime I have had several works of art that like the roar of the race cars at the speedway have made my pulse race. Some have even changed my life. (I’ve definitely never had a race car do that.)

In the spirit of the upcoming weekend, I offer a list of works of art that “start my engine”:

1. The Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London – Honestly, these sculptures changed my life.
2. Fountain by Marcel Duchamp – I didn’t understand what art really was until I saw this piece at the IU Art Museum. It’s a multiple so there are plenty more sprinkled around the world.
3. Pater Noster by Sean Landers at the Denver Art Museum – I could spend days just staring at this piece.
4. Acton by James Turrell at the IMA – Take some time with it and it may just blow your mind.

Race fans, Art fans and Blog Readers – What works of art get your adrenaline pumping? What gives you the goose-bumps at the IMA? Share your own lists below. I’d love to hear what you guys think.

In the meantime…I’m off to the races!

Let me state for the record that a page in this book is like 20 pages in any other. It’s dense. Really dense. Check out this quote from page 817: “The articulation of Structuralism and semiotics to a Lacanian psychoanalysis wherin the human subject was understood as formed in the play of gender difference contained far-reaching implications for the avant-garde.” Huh? Try reading that before bedtime. Rather than Chamomile Tea or sleeping pills, Art in Theory is what I use when I have insomnia. I labor through 2 pages and I’m exhausted.

I know I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. I love this book. I love all 1376 pages. I love it because I am a self-proclaimed art geek, and this is the book for art geeks. It tells the story of 20th-century art from the first-hand perspectives of artists, critics and philosophers. It’s not distilled down art history in some art appreciation text book. This is art history straight from the horse’s mouth. From Sigmund Freud to Donald Judd, there’s a little something for everyone and a whole heck of a lot just for me!

I mention this book for a couple of reasons. First, and most importantly, I sound like a smarty pants when I announce that I’m reading a book such as Art in Theory. And what’s the purpose of a blog if not to make you sound like a smarty pants. However, to be fair, I will admit that reading and understanding a book like this are two completely different things. I’m reading 100% of the content; I’m understanding about 50%. As I wade through the text, I’ve been stunned by the connections that have emerged. Even at half capacity, it’s amazing to consider the progression from Cezanne to Nam June Paik. On a good day this book has the capacity to blow my mind!

My second reason for writing about this book is that I had one of those mind-blowing experiences this week. On the very night that I read Michael Kimmelman’s beautiful obituary for Robert Rauschenberg, I reached the page (page 761 to be exact) dedicated to the reprint of Jasper John’s obituary written for Marcel Duchamp. It was extremely timely as Rauschenberg was a contemporary of John’s and the two artists were greatly influenced by Duchamp’s work. I found the short essay so eloquent and poetic that I have to share it.

John’s obituary for the legendary artist was originally printed in the November, 1968 ArtForum. I quote the first four and last two lines.

The self attempts balance, descends. Perfume – the air was to stink of artists’ egos. Himself, quickly torn to pieces. His tongue in cheek. Marcel Duchamp, one of this century’s pioneer artists, moved his work through the retinal boundaries which had been established with Impressionism into a field where language, though and vision act upon one another…”

…The art community feels Duchamp’s presence and his absence. He has changed the condition of being here.”

WOW! It’s rare when an art theory book can make you cry, but I did a little after reading John’s final lines. After reading hundreds of pages filled with chapters like “The Legacy of Symbolism,” “Neo-Plasticism: The General Principal of Plastic Equivalent,”and “Manifesto of Mural Painting,” I was surprised to be so moved. This kind of moment makes me want to keep reading. And I WILL, because I’m in it to win it.

So, I’ve got about 600 pages to go. At this rate I’ll be done some time in the winter of 2009. Sure it’s a challenge, but I’m learning so much. Heck, I’m already starting to look forward to Art in Theory: 1815-1900.

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