Peering out from the gallery windows on the Contemporary floor, the intersection of suspended wires that is Maya Lin’s Above and Below inspires as much confusion as it does awe. This concept is what urged the work of the Viewing Project team, who created an interpretive space in the Davis Lab on the 2nd floor that highlights this site-specific sculpture located a floor above.

Maya Lin, "Above and Below," 2007.

The Viewing Project, which is in its final year, is a three year series of small-scale educational installations providing innovative ways to reactivate the IMA’s permanent collection.  The Viewing Project’s main goals are to encourage new ways of looking at artworks by mixing up the collection in unexpected ways and supporting an enjoyable visitor experience. This includes but is not limited to: hands-on models, comparative artworks across time and culture, videos, flip-labels, technology, and thoughtful questioning.

Typically the Viewing Project installations are located directly next to the artwork they are referring to. With Above and Below, the Viewing Project team bravely took on the challenge of placing the installation in a separate location from the actual work. This method of separating the informational from the experiential aspect of an artwork allows not only new educational connections to be made but also helps visitors make the journey to the sculpture, which is something that hosts its own set of navigational challenges.

The museum has previously experimented with way-finding methods such as arrows on the floor, the walls and posted signage. For this particular project, the team brainstormed about using GPS mapping methods with verbal descriptions, but in the end, they decided the most user-friendly guide would be a handout using photographs of distinct views leading upstairs. This process, along with an overview of the project, is explained by Annette in the video below:

Maya Lin was chosen for this project because her sculpture was not found readily in the museum and certainly deserves more attention.  She combines her unique background in both art and architecture to create forms that quote both industry and nature in a complex way. The sculpture is loosely based on the Indiana Blue Springs Cavern system, which Max Anderson talks about here.  Above and Below was a commission-based project by the IMA in 2007 and is currently on view on the 3rd floor balcony.

Filed under: Art, Contemporary, Education

This summer, the IMA hosted a group of educators for a special teacher workshop inspired by our newest addition to the artwork in 100 Acres, FLOW (Can You See the River?), a project by New York based artist Mary Miss. Our goal for the workshop was to help teachers think about ways to incorporate the project into their classes, with the aim of engaging students in conversations about environmental, social, and economic sustainability while increasing student’s awareness of the White River and its watershed. Being an “art person,” I realized that to engage with this project and truly see the river as Mary instructs, I would need to supplement my arty knowledge with a little bit of science and history. And when you are trying to learn something, I have discovered that the best way to do so is to be locked up with a room full of teachers. So what did I learn? Here are a few highlights:

• Our friends at the Cell Motion BioBus, a 1974 San Francisco transit bus converted into a mobile science laboratory, showed us an awesome little creature called Daphnia,which is found in a range of aquatic (including the White River) environments and are visible to the naked eye (granted, they are still very small). Daphnia are tiny crustaceans with translucent exoskeletons, making them really interesting to view under microscopy.
• The partnership between the IMA and USGS, that has been a crucial part of  Mary Miss’s project, began several years ago when the IMA commissioned artist Maya Lin to create a piece for our collection. Lin was interested in mapping the bottom of a Lost River in Bedford, IN. Lost Rivers get their name from the fact that they flow underground. The USGS helped to map the river bottom and the cavernous ceiling. To learn more about Lin’s piece, appropriately titled Above and Below, check out this Art Babble video.
• There are a ton of similarities between the IMA and the Marian University Eco Lab. Both places benefited from wealthy individuals with ties to Indianapolis industry that also had country estates located along the White River. James Allison’s house (of Allison Transmission and co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) and the surrounding land were donated to Marian University and became the northern part of the campus, while the IMA’s Oldfields, the home of J.K. Lilly Jr. (of Eli Lily and Company and Eagle Creek Park) was donated to the Art Association of Indianapolis (later becoming the Indianapolis Museum of Art). Behind each of the country estates was a patch of land that was used for various purposes. The land behind Allison’s home was once used as cattle pasture and a driving course (check out the picture below), eventually becoming a 55 acre nature preserve for the university known as the Marian University EcoLab. The backyard of the Lilly family was also used for many things, such as farmland, a stone quarry (helping to build nearby Interstate 65), and now as 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park.

A great Aha! moment from this workshop was my realization of the genius of Mary Miss’s project title: FLOW (Can You See the River?). She is asking us to literally look at the river, but also to see the many ways in which it affects our lives. The teachers that attended the workshop helped me see the power of the word “flow.” Sure it refers to the movement of water,  but we also use it to describe the circulation of blood in the body or the way traffic moves (or doesn’t) during rush hour. To me it implies a Zen-like interconnectedness in the ways in which we share biological features with a creature like Daphnia or a shared history like that of EcoLab and 100 Acres.

Miss’s project opens September 22nd, which means you’ve got a little time to do some research to find out how you are connected to the river. So c’mon, learn something about the river. I dare you.

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Local, Public Programs

I’ve written similar posts in the past. It’s usually when I realize I’m supposed to blog at the last minute, so I scramble for some inspiration and typically end up recapping some of our current projects. Fortunately, The Nugget Factory projects are usually pretty cool.

You may have heard, that we softly launched the new IMA website on Tuesday? Well, we were kind of busy with that recently. But we’ve kept our eyes on a couple of other projects, including a major video documentary. You may recall our first major documentary, on Maya Lin which we debuted on ArtBabble. A pic of Dan on location for that documentary, below.

Senior New Media Producer Dan Dark, on location in Walla Walla

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Filed under: New Media, Travel

It’s hard to follow some of our recent posts – especially some very well written pieces by Jenny and Kate.  But I must, and today the focus is European Design.  It’s shaping up to be a pretty decent weekend in Indianapolis.  Around the IMA, lots of us are preparing for the arrival of all-star designers, scholars, designophiles, students, playas, and many more.  European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century kicks off tonight with the opening party.  Tomorrow and Saturday will be dedicated to the European Design Symposium – a collection of speakers ranging from Alberto Alessi, IMA’s own R. Craig Miller,  matali crassat, Jerszy Seymour and lots more.  And of course there is the exhibition itself – 250 works of incredible, daring, surreal, beautiful design.  And this is all happening in Indianapolis!!!!

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Filed under: Design, Exhibitions, New Media

Drum roll please.  After months of planning, coding, designing, critiquing, laughter, inappropriate laughter, sweat, blood, encoding, decisions, indecisions, mistakes, moments of ctrl-alt-del, late nights, early mornings, epiphanies, and many other things, I am pleased to announce both The Davis LAB, and officially ArtBabble.  To quote the artist, Willis ‘Bing’ Davis – It’s been a whole journey of love.

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about plans for The Davis LAB, and shared some early design concepts.  Well, on Saturday it opens and you can see it for yourself.  Phil & Noelle in marketing, just sent out a Facebook invite to all of the IMA Fans.  If you’re free on Saturday, stop by our new space to meet staff, check out the final designs, maybe get some free stuff and…that’s about it.

Computer interface for The Davis LAB -We have some amazing designers on staff.

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Filed under: New Media, Technology