To give you an overview of what someone who works in museum marketing does , I thought that I’d outline my typical day. In order to do that, I recorded my activities throughout the past Monday. While some of you were relaxing (or partying) on your Columbus Day off, I was hard at work with my fellow colleagues at the IMA.

Image taken from ugotbling.com

COLUMBUS DAY, OCTOBER 12, 2009*

8:27 Arrive at office. Plug in laptop.

8:35 Sip coffee and respond to emails sent over the weekend.

8:50 Research the 100 Acres: Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park for IMA  Magazine article.

9:15 Write interview questions for article to send to Ed Blake, the  landscape architect for 100 Acres.

9:32 Email interview to Ed Blake.

9:37 Discuss signage in Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion with Marketing Manager.

9:42 Register for Next Audiences Summit.

9:52 Review marketing budgets from last 2 years.

10:22 Read NYT’s article about the Louvre’s attempt to ‘Loosen Up.’

10:34 Get distracted by Jamie Oliver article in NYT’s Mag.

10:39 Review Web site content. Put together work plan to present in the afternoon’s Web team meeting.

11:22 Read Geoff Von Burg’s blog entry.

11:31 Email this week’s TV schedule for Sacred Spain commercials to Max, curator Ronda Kasl, and Nugget Factory.

11:38 Check attendance numbers from the weekend.

11:39 Organize opening weekend debrief meeting for Sacred Spain.

11:45 Polish up communication pieces for potential Winter Nights and Summer Nights media sponsorships.

12:18 LUNCH (Lean Cuisine and Fage Yogurt).

12:38 Watch Gentleman Broncos movie trailer.

12:41 Send movie trailer to Dan Dark.

12:44 Change Twitter name from @IndyArtGirl to @MegLiffick.

12:50 COFFEE.

1:00 Catch up on emails from the morning.

1:30 Web Team!

2:50 Review and edit Group Tours corporate mailer for Sacred Spain.

3:15 Respond to email from Contemporary Curator Lisa Freiman about the prestigious national award that her husband received. Congrats, Ed!!!

3:17 Create an initial inventory of marketing materials that can include media/corporate sponsor recognition during 2010.

4:02 Continue to draft 2010 marketing plan for Public Programs.

4:48 Brainstorm about communication ideas for TAP.

5:21 Respond to remaining emails.

5:42 Leave office. Head to gym.

6:13 Check email while running on treadmill at gym. DANGEROUS!

6:16 Attempt to respond to an email while on treadmill at gym. EVEN MORE DANGEROUS!

8:15 Read IBM’s social media guidelines while watching Will Ferrell on Man Vs. Wild.

8:30 Close laptop. No more work for the day.

*Please note that I have left out some details such as phone conversations, specific email correspondences, bathroom breaks, and Facebook and Twitter checks.

Next up (Oct. 28), I’ll tackle the ginormous topic of branding a museum. Stay tuned.

Ray Pawulich

The following post was written by Ray Pawulich. Ray currently lives in Indianapolis. He went to film school for a couple years, so he thinks he knows what he’s talking about. Here’s part two of his series on Summer Nights here at the IMA.

Every so often, someone tells me I remind them of John Cusack. When this comes from strangers, it’s kind of flattering. But when it comes from your own mother, it can be a little disturbing.

Such was the case in the spring of 2000 when my mother called to let me know she’d seen a movie called High Fidelity and insisted I’d enjoy it too. According to her, Cusack’s character in the film, Rob Gordon, was “just like” me.

On the surface, this was not a very complimentary observation. After all, Rob Gordon is no Lloyd Dobler, the tried-and-true romantic Cusack played in Say Anything. Nor is Rob as cool as Martin Blank, Cusack’s detached-yet-vulnerable hitman from Gross Pointe Blank. Instead, he’s neurotic, jealous, self-defeating, co-dependent and completely incapable of committing to anything. (Thanks mom.)

Image courtesy of PHOTOFEST

Luckily for my fragile ego, High Fidelity, as directed by Stephen Frears, is sympathetic to Rob’s plight. While the film is not afraid to show Rob as unlikeable, it’s also willing to give him the occasional victory, including the ultimate one (spoiler altert: he gets his act together). But perhaps most endearingly, High Fidelity holds up Rob’s passion for pop music (and its ability to shape his reality) as something totally understandable… and maybe even a little bit cool.

In so doing, Frears and company manage to faithfully capture the spirit of Nick Hornby’s original novel — and raise some interesting questions. What does it mean to deeply identify with the film adaptation of a book about a guy who can’t decide if pop music has made him miserable or if he listens to pop music because he’s already miserable? Is life best understood in reference to our favorite movies, books and songs?

For the Rob Gordons of the world, the answer seems to be yes. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing. After all, isn’t the purpose of all art to help us make sense of the human experience?

Of course, that might be overstating the case. High Fidelity works not because it taps into something primal about the human condition but because it’s, you know, entertaining. Between Jack Black’s breakout performance, a killer soundtrack, and endlessly smart dialogue, it’s got quite enough to appeal to less navel-gazing cineastes.

And yet for those of us who see a bit of ourselves reflected in Rob Gordan, High Fidelity is more than the sum of its parts. That’s why nearly a decade after its release, it remains on many All Time Top Five lists — including mine. So, really… thanks mom. You were right.

–
‘High Fidelity’ is playing at the IMA this Friday, August 28 as part of the Summer Nights film series.

Ray Pawulich

The following post was written by Ray Pawulich. Ray currently lives in Indianapolis. He went to film school for a couple years, so he thinks he knows what he’s talking about. Here’s part one of his series on Summer Nights here at the IMA.

Growing up in a relatively insulated Indianapolis suburb, many of the defining experiences of my youth were lived vicariously though film characters who came of age in the 1970s. The fact that early 90s suburban kids like myself were hungry for this kind of entertainment was not lost on the filmmakers of the day; for awhile there, it seemed all you had to do to get your movie on video store shelves was to pack it with drug references and give it a retro soundtrack. And while some of these films have endearing qualities (The Stoned Age remains a personal favorite), none can match the subtlety or artistry of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.

It might seem pretentious to use the word ‘artistry’ to describe any movie that features Parker Posey hazing barely pubescent girls, but Linklater’s unique ability to make an almost plotless story resonate with meaning is on full display in Dazed. The film follows one day (and night) in the life of Mitch Kramer, a somewhat geeky incoming high school freshman. During the 24 hours we follow him, Mitch is introduced to a world of drinking, drugs, and girls and he learns … well, he learns nothing, except that those things are more appealing to him than listening to his mother. Yet Linklater’s observant style and realistically-drawn characters give the film a profundity lacking in, say, That 70s Show.

Indeed, despite a few dramatic contrivances, Dazed still feels like a genuine slice of life. Perhaps it’s a credit to the movie that Linklater was sued by some his high school friends over similarities between themselves and characters from the film. After all, when Matthew McConaughey’s David Wooderson declares that he loves high school girls because even as he ages, they stay the same age, you can’t help but think of someone you knew with the same attitude.

Sixteen years after its release, Dazed remains one of the finest filmic tributes to the promise of a hazy summer of fun. As our own summer winds down, the opportunity to take it in under the stars at the IMA promises to be less hazy but no less fun.

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures/Photofest © Universal Pictures.

If you haven’t heard of Bloggers Anonymous, it’s an informal get together the IMA blog team puts together every couple of months to meet people from the local blogosphere, and put a face to a name with the local arts scene. Who gets to come? We  reached out to the official museum blog’s blogroll, which keeps us up to date on local happenings and includes greats like On the Cusp and MW Capacity. Also, our team is collectively connected to a wide array of people around Indianapolis and beyond, and we each follow blogs and people on twitter depending on our own personal interests. We decided to cast the net wide and get them all here to talk about social media and how they are using it in their daily lives, including blogs, facebook, and twitter.

The exciting twist for this event is we are throwing it right before the IMA screens two movies. You’ve probably been to Summer Nights, the IMA’s outdoor summer movie series. Yesterday marked the start of another event happening this year at the IMA, the Indianapolis International Film Festival. Tomorrow’s double header includes one of the IIFF offerings, a documentary called Best Worst Movie shown in the Toby, followed closely by Troll 2 (the subject of the first movie) in the outdoor theatre. Sometimes I want a documentary, sometimes I want Italian B Horror. Tomorrow night, they’re both on the menu!

Rumor has it we have tickets to give away for the Summer Nights/IIFF double feature, so join us at 6pm outside the museum store, on the ground floor at the IMA to talk shop and then we will head to the movies. We can all relax and watch a campy horror flick, I hear there’s nothing like it for a little bonding time!

"Installation Nation" at College Avenue and Michigan Street vacant lot

The local photo blog The Heidelberger Papers presents a regular visual exploration of Indianapolis through photographs and captions. The upcoming IMA exhibition Judith G. Levy: Memory Cloud will employ plastic photo viewers containing 35 mm slides to conjure memories, many of which visitors will have the chance to peer through, others of which will be out of reach. These two items prompted me to post my snapshots from the past weeks. Do we have some shared experiences?

Metal shipping container lit up at "Installation Nation"

Watching a vacant lot transform into a small village of warmly lit installations and speckled crowds, all from my living room window, was a delight. But it was the people, not the art that charmed me. “Installation Nation” was presented by the Indianapolis-based arts nonprofit Primary Colours.

Street view of downtown by The Maxwell condos

The Maxwell is one of several new condo buildings downtown. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this one will fill up.

Italian Street Festival

The 26th annual Italian Street Festival near Fountain Square was packed with people eager to taste some real Italian heritage. I got my hands on homemade spaghetti, fettuccine and a chocolate cake dessert and was literally encircled by welcoming families.

Some dogs can't hold their pasta.

Let’s just say the trip home from Italian Fest involved some heavy lifting.

Summer Nights June 12th film "Roman Holiday"

Highly recommended by my mom, “Roman Holiday”, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, was one of this year’s Summer Nights films. It sold out within an hour at the IMA so I’m happy I watched it from the comfort of my couch thanks to Apple TV.

"European Design" billboard on Delaware and 15th Streets

One of my favorite billboards from the “European Design Since 1985″ advertising campaign, the location of this message staring you head on while driving up Delaware is ideal. The Whippet Bench, even cooler. (The exhibition closes at the IMA June 21 — take your dad! Tickets are 2 for $10.)

Independent Music + Art Festival

The Independent Music + Art Festival presented by the Harrison Center for the Arts hosts countless talented bands and artist. Why did I choose to highlight one? Not only is his work fun to photograph, but I was entertained by Michael Altman’s paintings on cardboard last year. Altman creates his robots, dogs and other funky characters on found cardboard for two purposes. 1) To create an entry point for young collectors. Cardboard is cheap and so is the art. 2) To be green. Painting on cardboard gives each work character and also prevents it from going in the trash.

Work by artist Michael Altman at IMAF

]]> http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/06/17/snapshots/feed/ 1 http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/05/06/summer-in-the-city/ http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/05/06/summer-in-the-city/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 11:05:28 +0000 Jenny http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/?p=4897 If you have ever lived near Chicago, you know that it doesn’t get much better than summer in Chicago. From the Blues Festival and Taste of Chicago, to Navy Pier and the Art Institute, there is always something going on or something to do. Growing up 30 minutes from downtown, my friends and I would spend our summers riding the train into the city with no real plan or destination in mind. We’d just meander around and sure enough find ourselves entertained somehow – and usually for little to no cost. (The street drummers were always a favorite of mine).

So now that I have ventured south and summer is just about here, I am anxious to explore the cultural happenings of Indianapolis this summer. I’ve turned to my ever trustworthy colleagues, who know the city better than I, to find out what it is that I should not miss.

Charlie & Phil – Both agree that the Indy 500 (May 24), The Brickyard (July 26) and the Rib America Festival (Sept. 4-7) are some of the summer’s best. I think I’ll skip the actual consumption of ribs, but for $5 and tons of live music, Ribfest sounds like a good choice.

Kate – The Indy Jazz Festival (Sept. 21-27) is Kate’s favorite. I didn’t know this was a week-long event – and with Rob Dixon on board as one of its leaders this is definitely going on my list.

Daniel & Ed – Called “The Best Four Days in Gaming”, Daniel and Ed both like Gen Con Indy (Aug. 13-16). I’ll be honest and say that I had never heard of this before, but it sounds like a pretty big deal. Daniel shared some photos and it looks like these people seriously know how to party.

Gen Con 2008

Noelle – Another IndyCar Series race fan, Noelle’s second pick for summer is the annual Independent Music + Art Festival (June 13). Local musicians, visual artists and other “independents” come together for an all day outdoor festival. I’m all for enjoying free, original live music and shopping for art.

Matt G – Matt’s favorite Indy event is actually in the Winter, The Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest. (For those who like wheat beers better than winter ales, Kate informed me that there is a Summer equivelent to this event on July 18, in Broadripple). Another event Matt likes is Oranje, a contemporary art and music event focused on creating a stimulating and interactive art and music experience. With the tagline “Indulge Your Senses”, this event might take the Gold for an absolute must check out. The website hasn’t been updated with the 2009 schedule, but hopefully it will be soon!

And last, but certainly not least, a couple of my colleagues mentioned the IMA’s Summer Nights as an essential part of their Indianapolis summer experience. With films like The Goonies (July 3) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (July 24), how could it not be?

As this Saturday’s graduation marks the completion of my Masters degree and thereby the end of my internship here at the IMA, this will be my last blog post. But I do hope to see all of you at some of these great summer events! Who knows, maybe I’ll even show up in costume.

Rocky Horror

We asked the people and the people have spoken. The 2009 Summer Nights Poll results are now official and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to participate. Without further delay, I present to you the winning films.

Rainout Poll Winner: Field of Dreams
On June 26, we will hopefully make up for last year’s frequent summer rains and show an inspiring film about the power of America’s favorite pastime. Starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones, we hope that “if you picked it, you will come.”

Lights, Camera, Action Flick Poll Winner: Fight Club
On July 10, join us as we marvel at Brad Pitt’s abs and his violent fraternity of misfits. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk and directed by David Fincher, Fight Club not only has a satisfying and complicated plot but is also visually stunning. Some cool effects with this one. Good pick.

Cult Classics Poll Winner: Dazed & Confused

On August 14, pack up your buddies and join us for a summer night where Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Matthew McConaughey and the love of my life, Parker Posey, prepare Randall “Pink” Floyd (Jason Landon) for summer break. The music is good in this one too.

Music Poll Winner: High Fidelity *Updated 3/25/2009*

On August 28, music takes a leading role when we show this comedy about girls, mix tapes, and top five lists. Cusack siblings are onboard and Jack Black treats viewers with well timed quips and Belle and Sebastian references. If you’ve got a top five music list, I’d like to see it in the comments.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in our Summer Nights Poll. We had a great time going through the results and can’t wait for summer. See you under the stars!

The 2009 Summer Nights Film Schedule

*Updated 3/25/2009

June 5: Bourne Identity (2002)
June 12:  Roman Holiday (1953)
June 19: Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
June 26:  RAINOUTS POLL WINNER: Field of Dreams (1989)
July 3:  Goonies (1985)
July 10:  LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION FLICK POLL WINNER: Fight Club (1999)
July 17:  TBD (in collaboration with Indianapolis International Film Festival)
July 24:  The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)(Midnight showing; gates open at 10 p.m.)
July 31:  Gilda (1946)
August 7:  Hustle & Flow (2005)
August 14:  CULT CLASSICS POLL WINNER: Dazed & Confused (1993)
August 21:  V for Vendetta (2005)
August 28:  MUSIC POLL WINNER: High Fidelity (2000)
*Film schedule subject to change.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Summer Nights 2008

Now it’s time to mark your calendars for season #34 of Summer Nights, June 5-August 28. As one of the few art museums in the country with an amphitheater, the IMA offers a unique movie-going experience. All you need is a blanket, some friends and a picnic basket full of goodies. And, by popular demand, another special midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show is in the works.

VOTE NOW! Below are four categories of films. Vote for your favorite film in each of the categories as often as you like. Polls close at noon on February 25, and results, including the full Summer Nights schedule, will be announced in March on the IMA Blog.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.
STAY TUNED TO THE IMA BLOG FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS IN MARCH!

*Licensing fees and restrictions may prohibit certain selections from being screened. However, the IMA will do all that is possible to secure and show all winning films.

Who doesn’t love a kung fu panda? HI-YA! From cave paintings, frieze reliefs and spinning pottery attempting to convey motion, to the Victorian thaumatrope toy and the 1868 flip book, the development of animation has come a long way to reach a fully animated martial arts panda. This development urges us to think of animation as art, not just entertainment.

You may not first think of animation as a highly esteemed visual art form, but it certainly captures a large and important audience, along with highly talented creators, not to mention a hefty chunk of revenue. Possibly the first animated film, created in 1906 by American J. Stuart Blackton, was Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. The film tells the story of a cartoonist drawing faces on a chalkboard, with the faces coming to life. In the United States, animation began in the 1900s age of silent film with Bray Studios in New York City with characters like Felix the Cat, and moved into the Golden Age of Hollywood animation with Walt Disney’s many creations including Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop and Popeye. The 1950s through the 1980s brought the beginning of Saturday Morning Cartoons, perhaps the first visual art to which most children are exposed. Today, modern animation seems limitless with evolving computer technology, marked by the first fully computer generated feature film Toy Story. Animation now caters to adult audiences and appeals to the masses with niches such as Japanese Anime and stop motion animation like Wallace and Gromit. It is also incorporated into live action movies such as the Lord of the Rings series, blurring the lines between the two forms of cinema.

Animation comes with its share of sterotypes in America. Among them are a lack of being taken seriously and the opinion that animation is for kids. Actually, one might argue that the only difference between live cinema and an animated movie is the art of photography verses drawing, as Paul le Fou smartly pointed out on his blog Anima in 2007. It’s obvious that the business of animation is huge, and while I wasn’t able to track down what percentage of the movie industry is made up of animated films, a rush of other media outlets using animation come to mind – video and computer games, advertisements and all news outlets. Indiana even boasts its own animation genius Jim Davis, father of Garfield the cat.

Focusing on the science of animation, a local exhibition at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, called Animation, traces the process of creating a cartoon from storyboarding to design, voice recording and final editing with interactive features. The Cartoon Network brings the exhibit to life with characters from The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and others. This one is sure to intrigue all ages.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Friday night film series Summer Nights includes its own animation magic. Each film is preceded by a cartoon featuring one of your favorites (Mine? Pepe LePew!):

Gilda – Cartoon: Hare-Raising Hare
This is Spinal Tap – Cartoon: Rabbit’s Kin
The Goonies – Cartoon: Devil May Hare
Glory – Cartoon: Bunker Hill Bunny
The Rocky Horror Picture Show -
Cartoon: Water, Water Every Hare
The Mummy – Cartoon: The Rabbit of Seville
The Big Lebowski – Cartoon: Don’t Give Up the Sheep
Strangers on a Train – Cartoon: Baton Bunny
Devil in Blue Dress – Cartoon: Bugs & Thugs
Dr. Strangelove – Cartoon: Duck Amuck
Sholay – Cartoon: Ballot Box Bunny
Ghostbusters – Cartoon: Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, starring Daffy Duck
Click here for a full schedule of Summer Night films.

Maybe it’s time American culture takes a cue from Japan and embraces the Kung Fu Panda with the respect he deserves.

TONIGHT: Catch the last night of The Animation Show, featuring new independent animation, at Key Cinemas Filmworks tonight at 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm. “This year Mike Judge has gathered together over two dozen of his favorite funny short films from around the world. It’s a ground breaking program of eye-popping adult animation from tomorrow’s next great animators. This isn’t a dirty “adults only” animation show, but the program does skew towards a mature audience with some explicit language and adult subject matter.”

I’ve always been at the mercy of this terrible, wonderful flick.  My dad took me to see it, on the first day of summer after my fourth grade year.  We were late; I think we came in during the “Summer Nights” number.  We both liked the visual geometry of the dances, the buoyant froth of the songs.

My friends and I started going in packs.  We saw it at the drive-in, the way it was meant to be seen.  We staged sock hops.  One 9-year-old dressed up like a version of Sandy in fishnet hose and a leotard and rode around the neighborhood on her banana seat bike.  Years later my friend made me this kitschy Grease mirror, a true piece of folk art:

Don’t get me started on the centrifugal force of Travolta’s hips as he snakes around the white car during “Greased Lightnin’.”  Or the carnival Shake Shack scene, where John and Olivia shimmy in black against a colorful planar backdrop worthy of Mondrian.  I’ve always loved sad Danny and the phallic hot dog scene.  And the strange appeal of Crater Face.

Just two years after Grease arrived, MTV was born, and the Spandex Revolution began.  Children of the 80’s will also find much to love about this year’s Summer Nights line up, which includes The Goonies and Ghostbusters.  The movie schedule was built around four categories we conceived: Stylish Danger (i.e. Gilda); Alternate Universes (Dr. Strangelove), Dark Humor (The Big Lebowski), and Mad Musicals (Rocky Horror).

We also paid close attention to what cartoon goes with what movie.  I’m particularly looking forward to Rabbit’s Kin (1957), starring Pete the Puma, an underappreciated Warner Bros. character.  Watch for Pete before This is Spinal Tap on June 20.

Leave me your raves and rants about Grease—or Summer Nights ’08.