Readers may remember my post last February expressing concern for Ann’s possible boredom or loneliness as she repeated her only dance move nonstop. She took matters into her own bulbs (so-to-speak) by flickering on and off until she was taken to Atlas Signs on the southwest side of Indianapolis. While her electronic shell may have remained in the shop for repair, Ann’s light traveled far. Her first destination was the Wetterling Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden to join up with her old friend Jack. They attended an organic light emitting device conference to learn about the latest health trends affecting their livelihood.

Ann continued her journey with a visit Steve DeFrank’s studio to play with Lite-Brites, his invented medium of choice. DeFrank was a National Portrait Competition finalist several years ago with a life-size, Lite-Brite version of his mom and dad…nude.

Returning home, Ann stopped in St. Louis to see Rainer Kehres & Sebastian Hungerer’s work entitled CHORUS, 2008, located on the site of a burnt church. Part of The Light Project by the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, the overall message of the project was, “like light itself, difficult to pin down.” A bit ironic for Ann to be uncontrollably swaying her way through town wouldn’t you say?

While Ann was MIA from her Mass Ave hangout, she missed the excitement of IndyFringe Festival, the Colts first regular season game at Lucas Oil Stadium, the Circle City Classic, Barak Obama’s visit to Legion Mall and much more. But she arrived home just in time for the Halloween-goers Friday night, Saturday morning’s Monumental Marathon, the Pacer’s opening home victory Saturday evening, the Indianapolis Colts tremendous win Sunday night over the team’s rival the New England Patriots, and Tuesday’s historic vote. Surely, Ann has plenty going on in Indy to keep her happy. But you never know when she may be in the mood for another randevu with light.

Passersby might watch to see if Ann slides in any new dance moves she may have picked up on her travels. Welcome home Ann.

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.)