Did you know 73% of Americans use the internet at least occasionally? That is a lot of people! So using texting, email, blogs, social networks, etc. for politics was an obvious and very smart decision.

One of the untold stories of our new President Elect, imho, is the fact that for the first time in 8 years, we have a leader who embraces and, more importantly, actually uses & understands the same technology as you and me.

Technology, specifically the Internet (not Internets!), has never played a more important role in the campaign for an American President. The list of internet technologies I could find which President Obama utilized were, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, MyBatanga, FaithBase and his very own social networking site MyBarackObama. And, I’m sure there are several more I’m missing!

More importantly, President Obama compiled an email list of over 10 million supporters according to Wired. And even more exciting, this list will live on beyond the campaign trail!

As part of the presidential transition, Obama officials are looking to add a significant “new media” component to the White House communications operation. The campaign employed 95 people in its Internet operation, building a user-friendly Web site that served as a platform for grass-roots activities and distributed statements, policy positions and footage of Obama events. The White House Web operation will follow a similar but probably more ambitious path, transition officials said. – Wired

I think the significance of using these new mediums to deliver a political message is that they have the ability to bypass traditional slanted media outlets and the message can be more pure as it can be delivered directly to the people, therefore bypassing the Sean Hannitys of the world. Trust me, that’s a win for both Republicans and Democrats.

Finally, Washington gets it. Can you imagine getting an important real-time text message from your government? Now if only I had an iPhone. This is way too good to be true… somebody pinch me.

Thornton Dial is an African American artist whose work is in the southern vernacular tradition, which means he is self taught with no formal art education and lives and works in the South (Alabama to be exact.) He makes sculptures and assemblages (wall hangings with things protruding from the surface) using discarded everyday objects that would otherwise wind up in a land fill. So essentially Dial is also an environmentalist. If you look closely at his art, not too closely because there are sharp edges that can leave nasty cuts on delicate skin, you will see mattress coils, paint can lids, old shoes, used clothing, buttons, chicken wire (he is also a chicken farmer), and plastic twine. Almost nothing in the Dial household wound up in the trash. He nails objects to a very large canvas that has been attached to a board, adds enamel spray paint and covers the whole thing in Splash Zone compound, the material used to keep boats water tight.

Dial expressed his feelings on the war in Iraq in 2003 by producing a very large wall hanging, 71 x 114 inches that shows a torn image of the United States flag. He titled it “Don’t’ Matter How Raggly the Flag, It Still Got to Tie Us Together.” He chose the flag because it represents the values that America stands for, freedom, liberty and equality. He showed it torn and tattered; because in that form it represents what Americans suffer when our government finds it necessary to aggressively protect these values.

Not only is this flag shredded, its painted red areas make it look like bloody bandages, which turns the entire canvas into a gory battlefield. The artist not only expresses the horror of war in this work but inserts images that suggest this country’s history of racial strife. Wrapped in these bloody bandages are figures representing a dead black soldier toward the upper middle left of the canvas and a white soldier on the far upper right. Although Dial shows them separate (a reference to America’s continuing racial problems), they are also equal.

Since these soldiers died for the same cause on the same battlefield, are wrapped in the same cloth and float on the same ground made from mattress coils, their racial differences no longer matter. The mattress coils are Dial’s pun – “We have created a hard bed and our only hope is the realization that we must lie in it together.”

The Indianapolis Museum of Art purchased Raggly Flag just a few months ago. It now hangs on the wall on the third floor bridge near the escalator. You should come to the IMA to see it (www.imamuseum.org for directions and opening times), because describing a work like this and showing you a picture is no substitute for the real experience. This work of art is truly an awesome sight to behold. Hopefully, you will enjoy it even better since you now know the meaning behind the objects that the artist chose to include in this piece.

I’ve had a few brushes with fame and significant individuals in my lifetime. Through my work with the youth journalism program Y-Press, I met and interviewed Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. When I traveled to Northern Ireland with Y-Press, I interviewed Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness in his home. When we returned to the States, we interviewed his colleague Gerry Adams by phone.

Lately, my brushes with celebrity have been a little more close-to-home. Peyton Manning came into Harry & Izzys and ate dinner at the bar while my husband and I were having drinks there. (He is a part owner of the restaurant.) I saw his teammate, Jeff Saturday, having his car valet parked downtown a few months ago. And former Pacers star Reggie Miller was sitting discreetly in the corner of a popular restaurant I visited once this winter. Really, it’s pretty easy to run into athletes in this town. And, in my line of work, I tend to run into visiting artists pretty frequently too.

But my favorite brush with fame is my most recent. I got to meet my favorite journalist, Tim Russert at the IMA almost 2 months ago.

Long story short, I emailed a jpeg of a portrait in our collection by Hyacinthe Rigaud to one of his producers because our staff had joked for a while that Tim Russert looked so much like the “gentleman” in the portrait. You can judge for yourself. A couple of his producers sent me some kind emails back, asking more questions about the artwork.

Then, the political primary season continued to charge on, and for the first time in 40 years, Indiana’s primary was in the national spotlight.

My friend and colleague, Jyl called me on May 2 to say that she heard Meet the Press was going to be in town that weekend in advance of Indiana’s primary. I emailed one of the producers who I’d exchanged emails with earlier, and I invited their staff to come see the work in person. I figured it was a long shot given their presumably busy schedules. But that Saturday morning, I got back to my car after running the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, and I had a voicemail from his producer. By the time I called her back, they were on their way to the Museum.

I raced up to the Museum from downtown (still wearing my race number), and I got to take Tim Russert and his producer up to see the portrait hanging in our European galleries.

The experience was everything I could have hoped for. I always thought I had a lot in common with Tim Russert. He’s Irish American; I’m Irish American. His parents worked hard to send him to Catholic schools. My parents worked hard to send me to Catholic schools. He loved politics. I love politics. He loved sports. I love sports. He was from Buffalo. I have family in Buffalo. He worked for Mario Cuomo; I interviewed Mario Cuomo. He worked for Daniel Patrick Moynihan. I have a brother named Daniel and a brother named Patrick.

The 25 minutes or so that I got to spend with Tim Russert and his great producer, lead me to believe that everything that his been said about him since his untimely passing is true. We got to chat about Indiana’s presidential primary (and how my friends were divided in their support of the candidates). He commented on the beauty of the IMA’s gardens and grounds, and he said that everyone at our local NBC affiliate had treated him very well. His love of current events was evident, as he already knew the story of the “co-winners” at that morning’s mini-marathon – something I hadn’t even heard myself yet. And, I think he really got a kick out of seeing the portrait that he looked so much like.

I hesitate to pontificate about the death of someone who I met only briefly, but I will point to one of the best lessons I ever learned in school – something that I’ve been thinking about as I’ve watched and read coverage of Tim Russert’s passing. I had a high school teacher who wrote the following on his blackboard everyday: “Prepare through life for no regrets in death.” To me it seems that Tim Russert modeled this idea in the way he lived his life. What a great role model to have.

Beginning with McCain, he expresses his strong military background and personal heritage through his logo and with merchandise including a nautical lapel pin and Irish buttons. McCain also appeals to coalitions and branches of the armed forces through a variety of apparel. Perhaps the most noticeable difference from the other candidates is that McCain chooses to employ few images of himself. Clinton and Obama both have artists’ renderings of themselves for posters. McCain only uses unaltered photographs of himself on merchandise.

Next up is Clinton with her surprising portrait with “rising sun” found in the accessories section of her official campaign Web site’s online store. According to the site, this original Hillary Clinton print, designed by Hollywood screenwriter Tony Puryear (”Eraser”), is an exclusive to Hillarystore.com. The posters (there are two versions) are “Union printed in USA using 100% wind power and vegetable-based inks.”

“Senator Clinton is a beautiful, strong and inspiring woman, and I wanted to make a poster that reflected that. Rather than putting a slogan on the poster, I chose to put her name, because she is surely the only leader at this level with whom we are all on a first-name basis, and to me, that reflects her personal warmth and connection with ordinary Americans.” – Tony Puryear

One can’t help but reference the resemblance to Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist party in China, and his popular depiction in front of a “rising sun.”

Clinton assumes first name recognition with most of her campaign design and merchandise, including her logo of “Hillary for President,” noting her cause, above a strip of the American flag. Her merchandise varies from simple yard signs to the more peculiar “Hillary Cares” piggy banks and goldtone glitter pins.

Finally, Obama, noted in the press for consistent campaign design and use of Gotham typeface, doesn’t shy away from the man in the mirror. His logo features an “O” (Did somebody say “O”prah?) or circle, a horizon, flag and his name and the year 2008. Obama is the only candidate to include the year ‘08 in his logo. Perhaps the others are planning to run again.

Obama also features an “Artists for Obama” gallery where art and merchandise donated to the campaign by artists are for sale. Most striking is the limited edition Obama “CHANGE” portrait created by contemporary artist Shepard Fairey. Obama’s Web site says to stay tuned for additional prints in the days ahead.

Again, one can’t help but recognize some strange similarity to the popular depiction of communist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. I’m not saying Clinton or Obama should be compared to the likes of Mao or Che in character or governing style, but perhaps there’s a connection in the artistic depiction of power and authority that strikes the same chord.

After the election is over, the president is selected, and the years pass, it will be interesting to see what visual portrait of the 44th U.S. president history paints. For a look back on past presidents, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., holds the record in its permanent exhibition America’s Presidents. You may even find Hillary’s portrait around the corner.

Don’t get me wrong, the downfall of a two-timing governor is fascinating. Typically, I’d be all over that story, but Wednesday’s The New York Times (NYT) had more thrilling tales buried deep within…

What could possibly be more captivating than a bona fide sex scandal? If you peel yourself away from page 1 and dig deep into the paper, past sections B, C, and D, and continue all the way to section H, you’ll find the NYT’s annual special section on Museums. It’s 44 pages dedicated to the art, business, and people of museums.

I’ve spent the majority of my short career at the IMA, so I’m not sure what other museums do on the fateful Wednesday in March when the Museum section is published, but I am fairly certain that the scene is similar. For the first 30 minutes in the morning, there is a hush that settles over the administrative and curatorial offices. Everyone is silent as they comb through the articles – coffee in hand – searching for articles that mention the museum. By 9:30 am the silence is broken with the first flurry of emails. If your museum is mentioned, these emails have subject lines like: “Kudos”, “Congrats”, and “Have you seen this?” The organization then settles into a collective afterglow for the next few hours as the business of the day is tackled. The second round of emails begins after lunch as folks begin to read rather than skim the articles. These emails usually are a bit more critical with comments such as “that is an interesting quote they used,” “I wonder why they chose to feature fill-in-the-blank museum in this article?” and my favorite from this morning, “Who knew there was a cryptologic museum?”

I love the NYT’s Museum section because I love museums. On the morning it is delivered, I get so excited that I can’t do anything else but read it cover to cover, over and over again. Office door shut, eyes glued to the words, I anxiously flip the crisp, thin pages as I search for details or nuances I may have missed the first time around. It’s pure, unadulterated Museum-geek porn for me. Sure the picture of the IMA’s Design Curator, Craig Miller, in yesterday’s article titled “A Curator Who Even Considers the Office Chair” isn’t as sexy as a Playboy centerfold spread, but I think it’s pretty danged exciting. My knees went weak when I read the first line of the article, “Killer Statue – Psyched about the Site.” Dan Frost opens with “THE Indianapolis Museum of Art has its own video channel on YouTube.” YES!!!

For most people, I’m sure that the sex scandal on A1 yesterday was a bit more titillating than the article about museum research on H1. However, if for no other reason than to discover what earthquakes, slumber parties, and Eddie Izzard all have to do with museums, you should read the articles in the Museums section.

Are Museums more interesting than a political sex scandal? I guess it’s a matter of personal preference. I’ve told you what I think. Tell me what your thoughts are.