My first Pecha Kucha night, enjoyed from the squishy goodness of a giant red comfy sack in The Toby, was  like no other PowerPoint presentation I’ve been to. I left feeling inspired and liberated (since profanities could be shouted or whispered freely at any point). I’m definitely experiencing culture these days, maybe due to a motivating post by Meg. It’s true–as a marketer, and as a resident of Indy–we should all be experiencing the amazing galleries, games, plays, concerts, trails, architecture and exhibits offered by our friends. But why not also ask ourselves how as individuals we can create culture?

Matthew Hale, life-long resident of Indianapolis and graduate of Herron School of Art & Design, pitched his idea to make Indy a cultural landmark at the recent Pecha Kucha Night. “Letteracks: A 3D map for Indianapolis” is a coordinated system of 26 giant letter bikeracks, one for each letter of the alphabet, designed for the regional center of Indianapolis. The options for the use of these letteracks are endless–from field trip and jogging destinations to wayfinding and photo ops. Letteracks would add a unique system of nationally recognized landmarks to our city and increase the cultural language so-to-speak of the people in our city.

"Letteracks: A 3D map for Indianapolis"

While Matt didn’t win the $10k PK prize (in my opinion, he should have), his idea speaks to the idea of creating culture on a large scale. On a much smaller scale, as a child, I was a ballet dancer, I painted Tiger Lillies by the mailbox, I played the piano, I wrote poems and stories, I sang “Billy Boy” on the swing set, I planted mounds of pumpkin seeds and sunflowers in my garden, I took portfolios of pictures after a heavy snowfall, I read. Today, I rarely make time for these renewing acts or share them. What would Indy be like, if we each brought our own light and talents to our family, neighbors and city? What if we didn’t passively absorb culture, but actively created and shared it?

I heard an artist speak on the topic about a year ago in a sun-drenched gym on the Old Northside. “Do you have a picture to paint? A book to write? A dance class to take? Are you needed by someone?”

We should all have our day in the comfy sack, but I’m going try to make more time to create, converse and inspire.

Wilber in his comfy sack

]]> http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/11/18/creating-culture/feed/ 4 http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/11/11/experienceiseverything/ http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2009/11/11/experienceiseverything/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:59:14 +0000 Meg Liffick http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/?p=9414

Audience at The Toby

We have a lot to offer at the IMA: permanent galleries, Lilly House, 152 acres of gardens and grounds, exhibitions, public programs, web projects, and community outreach. After a while, it’s easy to take for granted all of the ways that the museum serves its mission. Every week I write ads, print pieces, Facebook updates, and blogs that focus on the opportunities for visitors at the IMA, but I often don’t take advantage of them myself.

Just 30 seconds from where I sit, I have an amazingly impressive collection of the world’s art, and I rarely take the time to see it. I’m not sure if it’s my hectic schedule or laziness, but it’s shameful to me how little time I spend in the galleries or at the IMA’s public programs. As a marketer, I spend my day encouraging others to experience the IMA, but I wouldn’t be doing my job well unless I do it myself. Therefore, I have recently decided to attend two public programs each month and spend at least 30 minutes in the galleries each week. It’s still not enough, but it’s a start.

As part of my personal mission to experience the museum, a week ago Sunday, I attended an event at The Toby. On November 1, the IMA hosted the string quartet Osso, the singer-songwriter DM Stith as well as Sufjan Stevens and his film, The BQE. The eclectic event entertained a sold-out crowd of 600. As I sat in the balcony of the theater next to a 16-year-old hipster in buffalo check plaid, skinny jeans and black framed glasses, my heart swelled. He and his fellow high school friends were completely engaged in the experience. They were giddy with delight. (In a cool, hipster sort of way, of course.)

DM Stith on stage at The Toby

I loved the event, because Osso was the most bad@ss string quartet that I’ve ever seen perform. I loved the event, because DM Stith has a hauntingly gorgeous voice. I loved the event because The BQE was a devastatingly beautiful film. But, most of all, I loved the event because everyone else loved the event.

As a marketer, I often focus on the cause. “What will make a person attend the Museum?” But not often enough do I focus on the effect. “What happens when a person attends the Museum?” Attending public programs, walking through the galleries, and experiencing the IMA as a visitor are all critical to doing my job well. By taking time to enjoy the mission of what I do, I am better able to serve it.

So, with all that said, I have a challenge to my colleagues in the field – not just marketers, but registrars, curators, designers, IT specialists, and accountants. EXPERIENCE YOUR MUSEUM. Don’t take for granted that you work at an amazing place. Be amazed by the place at which you work.

It’s hard, I know. We have all have priorities that pull us away, but I implore you to take the time. For just a little while each week, stop working and start experiencing. I guarantee you, it’s worth it – and I’m not just saying that because I work in marketing.

Interview with Oguri

What’s your mission, or hope, as an artist?
Dance. Basically I feel inspired to dance. I began dancing with Body Weather and Tatsumi Hijikata’s  work, but it was not to learn a kind of tradition or to be a ‘dancer’. I was attracted by the spirit and community. Body Weather does not teach one how to move but is an investigation of the body through working with and learning from others and explores the connection of body to space. A lot of people connect Butoh with the atomic bomb and Hiroshima, and I want to make it clear that that is a misunderstanding. Of course that is a very strong human experience and everything is related, but Butoh is not a direct expression for that. Rather the dance is a possibility for human understanding. Butoh is revolutionary, but it just means ‘dance’. Dance doesn’t have a goal. I work between my body and myself.

How did Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! come to be?
Because of my interest in William Faulkner.

How does Caddy! relate to the Japanese performing arts tradition?
I found Faulkner through Japanese literature. Oe and Nakagami  were inspired by him, and if they are like my fathers, I wanted to meet my grandfather. When Faulkner visited Japan in the mid-1950s after World War II, he said I am like you. I come from the south–the losers country. There is physicality in Oe and Nakagami’s work, and for me that is dance.  I find the same thing in Faulkner’s work.

What influence has Butoh had on you as a performing artist?
Butoh is respect of Tatsumi Hijikata’s dance. In Japan, there was folkdance, ballet, and modern dance. There was a society where performers presented seven-minute pieces for a classy, sophisticated audience. Hijikata comes along half naked and shines the light in the audience’s eyes. He brought the idea of homosexuality and sex and eroticism on stage. He killed a chicken on stage, and the little girls fainted and he was kicked out. After he was expelled, people sought him out because he seemed so cool, and at the time, many people had the same antiestablishment sense. He did a lot of collaborations and events, but it was very avant-garde, very strong cutting edge work.

This year’s Spirit & Place theme is “Inspiring Places.” Does Caddy! take its sense of place from Faulkner’s writing?
William Faulkner lived his entire life in one small county town. From there he created hundreds of characters and lives full of memories and imagination. He invented a fictional place, Yoknapawtawpha, that the reader feels and travels through. In the dance we carry the spirit of the stories.

Can you describe what it’s like to perform this piece?
I have the opportunity to be in Faulkner’s imagination, to dance his stories in space and explore many different characters and the strength and depth of humanity.

What do you ask of the audience who attends this performance?
If you have a chance, please read Faulkner.

Caddy! Caddy! Caddy! The William Faulkner Dance Project is Saturday, November 7 at 7 pm in The Toby. Tickets are $10 for the public and $7 for IMA members. Purchase tickets online

BONUS: Show any Toby ticket stub and receive half off the ticket price for Caddy!

And perhaps this is why we began a series of articles in the IMA’s magazine on the provenance of important works in the Museum’s collection, written by Annette Schlagenhauff. As the IMA’s Associate Curator for Research, Annette has spent years tracing the paths of works of art from the artists’ hands to the walls of the IMA. The stories are fascinating and not without moral ambiguities and missing pieces.

Landscape at Saint-Rémy (Enclosed Field with Peasant)

The fall issue of the magazine features the IMA’s Landscape at Saint-Rémy (Enclosed Field with Peasant) by Vincent van Gogh. As one of the most important and valuable works in the Museum’s collection, Annette peers beyond the paint into the 120 year life of the painting. Painted in southern France in 1889, its early history is well documented, however, during the time of Nazi regime power when many of Europe’s art collections were in jeopardy, its provenance is spotty. Did Landscape at Saint-Rémy leave Europe legitimately or was it tied up in the Nazi’s campaign of looting Jewish art collections?

[This is why the magazine should be online. I could link to the rest of the story here and you could happily finish reading. Soon enough!]

Long story short, papers found in the New York Public Library confirmed that the painting left Europe still in the family of the original owners and had been consigned to a New York-based art dealer when arriving in the United States. The IMA can breath a sigh of relief and say that the provenance of the Van Gogh is clear.

But what would have happened if the provenance was not clear? Should research suggest the name of a possible legitimate owner, the IMA is obligated to attempt to contact them to discover more. Many paintings in the IMA’s collection have gaps in their provenance in the critical years of 1933-1945. Per the American Association of Museums (AAM) and the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) guidelines, the Museum posts these works on the Nazi-era Provenance Internet Portal and the IMA Web site–provenance research project. The facts unique to each painting help determine the course of action. (More here)

I think there are more than a few of us who would like Annette’s captivating, Nancy Drew-like sleuth job. No doubt it’s nerve wracking, hard work. In the winter issue of the magazine, and online, you’ll be able to join Annette in her journey to discover the past of the Dutch painting Valkhof at Nijmegen by Aelbert Cuyp. I see National Geographic documentaries in her future.

The Valkhof at Nijmegen

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Come to the IMA on October 3 or 23 to see The Rape of Europa in The Toby. This is an amazing opportunity to watch a documentary film that examines Nazi looting of the great museums and private art collections of Europe in an attempt to obliterate cultural identities. The film’s epic scope explores a descendant of painter Gustav Klmit’s flight to regain a portrait of her aunt, Louvre staff members who packed and moved 400,000 pieces of art as the Nazis advanced, and the “Monuments Men” who plumbed salt mines to recover stolen art after the war. You’ll be faced with the question: “Which is of more value: a work of art or a human life?”

Preview The Rape of Europa below and get your tickets now.

Guy Ben-Ner is another artist featured in the exhibition Adaptation. IMA Curatorial Associate of Contemporary Art Allison Unruh and I had the pleasure of asking Ben-Ner about his work earlier this year:

Interview with video artist Guy Ben-Ner

What first drew you to working in video?
When my daughter, Elia, was born I was still an undergraduate art student in Israel. I realized I could not spend much time in a studio anymore, with the demands of work, studies and fatherhood. I decided to work from home and include my cohabitants in my plans. To get a child involved with immediate video magic was quicker than working with marble and much cleaner than painting at home. Besides, for the narratives I started to be interested in, video seemed to me the best tool. I needed things that unfold in time.

In collaborating with your family on videos, how do you negotiate the roles of artist and father?
At the time, I worked hard to conclude that both are one and the same role – so I did not have to negotiate too much.

Your works in Adaptation take inspiration from Melville’s novel Moby-Dick and Truffaut’s film L’enfant sauvage (The Wild Child). Why did you choose to engage with these particular sources?
Moby-Dick was part of a few “sea adventure” narratives I was interested in at the time, partly for the escape they offer (you sail away, leaving the family behind) and partly for the Western mythology they take part in as creators. Truffaut’s movie interested me because I understood it not as a wild-child’s story but as a director’s account of what it means to direct a child actor – an act that can never be fully justified or moral. So I will not call them inspirations but rather tools that helped me tell my own stories in a fictional disguise. I used them rather than being inspired by them. But maybe that is the same thing?

For Wild Boy, you built a large-scale installation that echoes the set you created in your home where you filmed the work. How do you feel that this installation changes the experience of the video for the viewer?
It is comfortable. It suggests to you, the viewer, to lie down, relax and take your time – that’s it. I am usually not very found of video installations, and I can live with Wild Boy detached from the installation very peacefully. (View an excerpt from Ben-Ner’s single-channel video Wild Boy, 2004)

Can you tell us about the projects you are currently working on?
My next movie is being shot with the kind help of the people at Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), where I will open a show [on May 23]. All I can tell you now is that it will involve a light airplane, a car, a double bicycle and two people. I hope that sounds intriguing enough.

World Graphic Design Day is celebrated on April 27, the anniversary of the founding of Icograda, the world body for graphic design, in 1963. It is a day to celebrate the profession of graphic and communication design. The day has been celebrated since 1995.

Now if we could only abolish Comic Sans! But since we can’t, you should do yourself a favor and meet film director Gary Hustwit (Helvetica) and see his latest documentary, Objectified, which is a film about the creative process of product design. It is at the Toby here at the IMA on May 14th 2009! The film features designers who shape our manufactured environment and our interfaces with mass-produced objects including the people behind IKEA furniture and the iPod. Click here to read more about the event. Hope to see you there!

I get in the design groove by listening to music, and this seems to be all too fitting. Dert’s CMYK ep should help you get those creative graphic design juices flowing. Pay as you please… dope indeed.

Download audio file (02-magenta.mp3)

Since then, I’ve ditched the dial-up modem for broadband and ReBirth for a full blown electronic music production suite called Reason. Needless to say, I’m still fascinated by electronic music. However, what is more fascinating to me is that electronic music production has gotten to the point where musicians can now be recognized for being able to play a laptop just as well as someone who can play a piano. Here’s a neat fact, an electronic instrument called a “Drumitar” has been used to win five Grammy Awards. Check out a video of it being played here.

Given my fascination with electronic music, I’ll definitely be in The Toby this Thursday, April 16, to see Beatrix*JAR. The JAR is a one-of-a-kind electronic sound art duo that messes with the circuits of electronic toys to make super entertaining glitch tunes. Basically, Speak and Spell bends to their musical wishes and becomes their instrument.

I’m super excited about the show and encourage anyone who is even slightly interested in music to attend. If you’re unsure about what kind of fuzzy sonic bliss you’re getting into, Beatrix has a MySpace page with some great tracks in their player.

And, because I’m really trying get the “electronic music rules” word out, the first two people (non IMA employees) who leave a comment will get a free ticket to see Beatrix*JAR.

In order to get a ticket, the comment must read, “Phil,  I want to see Beatrix*JAR and will pick up the ticket at the IMA front desk at 7:00 pm on Thursday.”

Hope to see you there!

Phil: Good morning, Dynah. How are you?

Dynah: Ay-Yay-Yay! I don’t see you anymore. What, you don’t have time for Dynah? The only one of you that comes to see me anymore is the one they call Peeper. You can’t stop by? Say hello to little ol’ Dynah?

Phil: You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m in Public Affairs now and don’t handle Lilly House A/V anymore. But we’re talking now aren’t we? After all, this is your interview.

Dynah: You said you’d call. I miss my handsome green eyed shaygets.

Phil: Whoa, Dynah, whoa! Hands off. Sit. Drink your tea. Tell me about something. Anything. Have you been to The Toby yet? Seen a show?

Dynah: I have. But forget that little girly of yours. She can’t cook like I do…

Phil: Dynah, I’m sure you’re better. But can you elaborate on your Toby experience? Please?

Dynah: (Pouting) If you insist. I like the foreign films and a human of mine is going to sneak me into your Winter Nights this Friday. She says the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra is going to play along to “The General.” Oh, how I enjoy Buster Keaton. Care to join us?

Phil: I may stop in for second. What else? Are you excited about our next exhibition? European Design Since 1985?

Dynah: How many more questions do you have? I thought we were going to talk about us?

Phil: Two more, I promise. And I promise we’ll talk later. But now, Dynah, please, our next exhibition?

Dynah: Fine, but you’re going to talk to me later. Yes, as you know, I live in the Lilly House, and I have an affinity for fine design. I’m also close friends with James Dyson’s house-elf, Margaret. We used to play bridge together. She’s excited about the exhibition too because she has in her silly head that the show will have one of the very pieces she used to clean Jim’s carpets.

Phil: That’s interesting. She sounds lovely. Last question and you’ll have to forgive me, but fans of house-elves everywhere are asking, do you know Dobby?

Dynah: Sure I do. The putz dated my cousin.

I’ll try not to belabor the point with too many statistics, but in sheer square footage – 669,000 and change in the main building – the IMA ranks in the top ten out of about 230 other art museums. That’s a lot of square footage our security officers have to patrol each day, 24/7/365. And in that space is an art collection of roughly 54,000 pieces of art from all over the world and from all time periods.

Now, numerous other institutions have bigger buildings or more artwork, so let me add a few other amenities that the IMA has: a reference library, studio/education space, retail and dining areas, the 500-seat Deer-Zink events pavilion, and The Toby, a 600-seat theater to augment our warm-weather outdoor amphitheater.

IMA's campus and LOVE

If that’s not impressive, the IMA sits on a 50-acre landscaped campus with garden paths and outdoor artwork including the world-famous Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture . Also on this campus is the Garden Terrace events pavilion, a venue for smaller wedding receptions and meetings; the 1330 House, a temporary residence for visiting scholars and couriers; and Newfields, office space for our horticulture staff and home to the Horticulture Society’s reference library.

It is a rare thing that a museum has its own national historic landmark, as the IMA does in Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens. I always enjoy taking new officers to Lilly for a tour from Bradley Brooks, curator and director of the house.

In terms of off-campus, let’s take a cruise past Westerley, the 5-acre IMA director’s residence. During the Gifts of the Tsars exhibition back in 2001, the IMA utilized the house for temporary housing of several Russian couriers. Security staffed the house, prompting me to refer to it as Best Westerley. Presently, we monitor the security systems and perform other tasks as requested by the director.

To complete the tour, I’ll mention the “100 Acres,” the Art & Nature Park to the west of the museum. Surprise, it’s a 100-acre plot of land with a big lake (I’ve heard 40 acres). Even though official construction has been delayed, the park is still open for dog walking and Frisbee throwing. Naked jogging is frowned upon, however.

Mindy and the jogger

There you have it, 150 acres of artsy goodness with two, count ‘em, national historic landmark properties, a mini-hotel for scholars, theater space for year-round films and concerts, two reference libraries, and an awesome director’s residence. Combine that with a variety of events and programs and our significant presence on the Web, and there is no doubt we have a world-class museum in our midst. Hugs & Kisses on Valentine’s Day.

Sutphin Fountain

But I need some color! These deciduous shrubs with yellow, orange, green, or red stems provide it like nothing else in the middle of a Midwest winter and are a hardy easy to grow group of plants. The colors really pop against snow or evergreens but are excellent in any situation. Don’t be afraid to cut a few to bring indoors too.

The first plant I want to mention is a willow. Yes, a willow. Not a weeping willow though they can have nice twigs as well. This is Salix alba ‘Britzensis’, the coral bark willow.

Coral bark willow

It can become a tree of considerable size. But as with the other shrubs in this article, the best color is on the younger growth so you want to be cutting them back on a regular basis. Usually that means cutting out about one third of the old growth annually. ‘Britzensis’ grows so fast you can cut the whole plant to the ground in early spring and have an 8 foot shrub by late summer. It doesn’t need to be in a wet area but avoid super dry sites. In this photo of the base of the plant notice where it has been cut back in previous years. The older the stems, the weaker the color.

Some color

Another shrub that isn’t always chosen for its winter twig color is Kerria japonica, Japanese kerria (aren’t common names clever?). Kerria is grown mostly for the bright golden yellow flowers covering it in April. In the winter, when anything other than white, brown, or gray is in desperately short supply, these green twigs are a welcome sight. This is the only shrub in the blog that grows well in both sun and shade. The cultivar ‘Kincan’ has lots of yellow striping on the twigs. It’s very nice. Here’s a group of the cultivar ‘Golden Guinea’ planted near the back side of the Toby.

Golden Guinea

The majority of the shrubs we grow for the color of their stems are in the genus Cornus, generally referred to as the “twig dogwoods” – redtwig, yellowtwig, etc. Multiple species are in this group and you can also find them with white or yellow variegated leaves for even more seasons of interest, even solid chartreuse leaves (always my fave). As a general rule however these are grown for the winter interest they provide. All produce the best color in sunny sites. For yellow twigs there’s Cornus alba ‘Bud’s Yellow’ near the entrance to the Greenhouse.

‘Bud’s Yellow’

In Nonie’s Garden is the bright red Cornus sericiea ‘Cardinal’ looking really sharp right now.

Bright red Cornus sericiea

And then there is my favorite. This one is yellow, orange, coral, and pink – Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’.

Midwinter Fire

Under good conditions the twig dogwoods can put on 3-4 feet of growth in a year. Stems over 2 years old on any of these are noticeably duller. In this shot you can see clearly where the new growth occurred last year. These were trimmed high to maintain a bit of screening function. It’s a practice you won’t to attempt very often. You would soon have 4 feet of dull gray topped with 18 inches or so of bright color.

Nice color

I said earlier these are tough plants. As living proof here’s one surviving another Indiana winter in a container. Not a place for a delicate little boo-boo-baby plant.

Boo Boo baby plant?

That’s it for this week. Try to get out to the gardens and enjoy the Winter show.