Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

Some have their names on a gallery, time to give or money to gift. Others use their knowledge of a subject, unique skill set or need for a place to belong. They all have a passion for the IMA.

As editor of Previews, the best part of publishing a membership magazine is interviewing, meeting and photographing our members. As we celebrate the IMA’s 125th anniversary this week, it is fitting to highlight the people who give of themselves to the IMA.

Members selected to be featured in Previews are chosen to fit the overall theme of that particular issue and on their history of devotion to the IMA. For example, in this year’s fall issue, Roger and Francine Hurwitz were interviewed about their contributions to the Museum’s Chinese and Japanese collection since the featured exhibition was Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty. I usually get a brief rundown of the member I am profiling before writing interview questions, but it never prepares me for the true devotion and stories these individuals hold.

I was moved by the volunteer who regained her sight and found hope after listening to her friends describe works of art for her. By painting the pictures for her through words, she found joy in life again and saw in art the possibility to inspire. When she moved to Indianapolis, she sought out the IMA to volunteer her time.

I was tickled when interviewing a donor couple deeply in love. Their journeys to collect art and relationships with IMA curators are so much a part of their life and family. They were so eager to share their love of the Museum with me that they talked over each other and finished one anothers’ sentences. (Talk about a journalist’s headache!)

If I interview the member over the phone, I’m always delighted to meet them in person when they come in to be photographed for the magazine. This is truly my favorite day of the publishing process. Our photographer, Tad Fruits, and I search for the right spot to capture their personality and interest. We joke and laugh as he captures a moment in time that represents so much more than standing in a gallery next to a work of art.

I hope you too find inspiration in the many diverse individuals who come together with the common interest of supporting the IMA. Become a fan on Facebook and keep an eye out for (new) upcoming opportunities for members to have 15 minutes of fame!

Class Pictures: Photographs by Dawoud Bey opens tomorrow night at the IMA with a conversation with artist Dawoud Bey followed by an opening party. For the exhibition, Bey photographed young people from all parts of the economic, racial and ethnic spectrum in both public and private high schools. I had the pleasure of asking Bey about his work earlier this year:

Interview with artist Dawoud Bey
As published in the fall issue of the IMA’s Previews membership magazine

Q. Can you tell us when you became interested in portraiture?
As I began to figure out what I wanted to do as an artist, I was spending a lot of time going to museums and galleries looking at work by other photographers. The pictures that resonated for me most strongly were those that were of human subjects. There seemed to me something quite powerful about a person confronting the camera, returning the attention of the photographer. Read the rest of this entry »

Rules. Everybody’s got ‘em, from Mom’s house to the big house. The Golden Rule, the infield fly rule, and the Rule of Thirds. Robert’s Rules of Order, rules of engagement, and the Rule of Law. Look both ways before crossing the street, keep your elbows off the dinner table, no playing ball in the house.

The IMA is no different. The museum’s “gallery rules” are rules for proper behavior around the artwork so that the collection is maintained in the best possible condition for generations to come. Most of the rules are common sense, if you stop and think about it. I mean, if Mom won’t let anyone eat pizza on her new sofa, do you think we want anyone near the Monet with a Double Decaf and a sticky bun? Think again, buck-o.

No touching is the Numero Uno rule we have. We humans are such tactile animals that we want to touch everything, from the shiny surface of Donald Judd’s Untitled, 1967 to the rough surface of Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture.

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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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