Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

At a recent dinner party, a friend expressed his fascination with provenance (Defined: the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art). He was astonished that if he bought something as a bona fide purchaser, or in good faith, that he may someday be required to return it without compensation if it was found to be a valuable cultural relic that was stolen, looted or untrue in record of ownership. I, on the other hand, was astonished that this concept seemed so unfamiliar to him.

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Glasvegas Album Cover - Amazon.com

I care about wordplay. I also care about a band name. Formative case in point, the instant the young Phil learned the proper way to spell beetle, he realized that the band that sang Help to him before bed every night had cleverly altered the spelling of their name to reflect a basic musical idea. Simple, I know, but I remember getting home from school, my heart and stomach about to implode from crushing urgency, and asking the coolest person in the world, “Mom, who else knows about this?”

Luckily, years of schooling didn’t ruin me and I’m still as easy to please as the playfully ignorant kid amused by simple puns. However, years of English and Math classes have made slightly more sophisticated instances of cleverness understandable, and for that I’m thankful. For example, consider a recent IMA acquisition called Möbius Ship, by Tim Hawkinson. Tim’s demonstration of clever wood-play is seriously clever. I like it so much that I hike up to the third floor and check out this monstrous nautical nemesis at least once a week. And, whenever I namedrop hot art at the museum, you know I’m like, “Mobius Ship, get it?” Read the rest of this entry »

Well, nothing says “Time to write your first blog,” like being home sick from work on a rainy day. Staring at my walls, which are covered by works of all types, waiting for Ellen DeGeneres to come on, I’m uber-inspired to tell you about my very own museum I live in.

A lot of times when people find out I work at the IMA they assume I have an art background or have at least taken one Art History class. This is, in fact, not true. I do remember making a paper mache’ fish when at the IMA in the summer when I was about 7, at some of our Summer Art classes.

I began collecting art about 6 years ago when I got out of college and didn’t know what to do with all my free time now that I was in the “real world.” I started going to Goodwill, garage sales, thrift stores, and other places I could actually afford and started picking up art that makes me smile. It doesn’t mean I’m not a great art collector, it means I’m a treasure hunter. After all, how great is it that you can find treasures anywhere, like IMA’s new collection of Weegee photos that a couple of ladies found in a trunk at a Kentucky yard sale?

People also ask what my favorite kind of art is and if you walked into my house you’d realize it’s an eclectic mix, similar to my movie collection, my taste in music – heck, even my friends. Right inside the front door, before you head up the stairs, is a canvas reproduction on “American Gothic.”

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It is an introspective sort of day. I am wrapping up an art appreciation class tomorrow with a final exam and am busy trying to get a grasp on everything happening in IMA’s Nugget Factory. It is so easy to get all wrapped up in the day-to-day hustle and bustle that I forget why I began doing this in the first place.

I love art.

I am a person typically defined by what I hate….I hate reading, I hate obnoxious people, I hate Jessica Alba (not for the reason you would think), (most) chick flicks, social inequality, people who ignore problems instead of solve them, etc. I am all over the place. From the trivial to social issues, I ALWAYS have an opinion. For better or worse. So how could I love something as big and varied as art?

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I’m glad to have Irvin’s report that clearly shows spring is on its way and to know that in a matter of weeks the sky won’t be that low, oppressive grey. This means soon I’ll be working on the outdoor sculpture – from washing, cleaning, and waxing to the occasional, necessary repair. You may have seen some of the conservation work we’ve done on the IMA’s famous LOVE sculpture in this youtube video.

But this year I’d like to ask you to lend me a hand in taking care of the IMA’s outdoor sculpture. No, no, I’m not talking about actually getting you to join me in doing the labor, but I’d like to ask you to participate in a kind of experiment in documenting some of the sculpture on the grounds – that is to say make Wikipedia entries and upload some pictures of the IMA’s sculptures. If you don’t’ already know, anyone can make Wikipedia entries!

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