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

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Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Travel

The Miller House and Garden in Columbus, Indiana, is a truly remarkable place, notable for embodying outstanding work of its architect, Eero Saarinen, its landscape architect, Dan Kiley, and its interior designer, Alexander Girard.   Here, the stains of mid century modernism strike a chord whose resonance few others can equal.

Its visual resonance is amplified by having been recorded by two of the most important architectural photographers of the twentieth century, Ezra Stoller (1915-2004)  and Balthazar Korab (1926-  ).  As we work to understand the property and the changes it underwent, to have the photographs taken by these men is to sift a treasure almost beyond one’s wildest hope. Many preservation projects must rely on much less for visual documentation.  Imagine being immersed a career of genealogical and historical research and suddenly working on an individual whose every portrait had been taken by Cecil Beaton or Irving Penn!

Monica and Balthazar Korab, Photo by Mark Zelonis

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Filed under: Art, Design, Local

As a new segment this summer, the IMA Blog will be featuring a Tuesday Photo of the Week, highlighting juicy tidbits of info including works of art, artists, news, events, or locations.

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Filed under: Art

As a new segment this summer, the IMA Blog will be featuring a Tuesday Photo of the Week, highlighting juicy tidbits of info including works of art, artists, news, events, or locations.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Local, Musings