A visitor to "Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial" using the TAP tour.

Today I’m trying out our hand-held TAP tour. The TAP tour is a mix of audio, video and picture content on an iPod Touch. It guides patrons through the exhibition, giving them additional information to enhance the experience. I did my best to read every label, give every painting a sufficient amount of time, and listen to each sound bite, but that’s not necessary. If the exhibition is laid out well (just as this one was) then you flow through it, feeling a slight current supporting you the entire way.

Opening yourself up is not always easy, and this art is not the most approachable in the building. Dial’s work reminds me of the I Spy books used to pacify me on long cars rides growing up. The art isn’t childish by any means, but the complexity is there and the longer you look—the more you see. It’s grouped in a way that makes sense and the TAP tour explained everything I didn’t understand.

All the paintings were 3-D assemblages of objects Dial found or created. There were also sculptures of a similar origin. Cow skeletons, bed frames, corn stalks and a goat carcass make their way into various sculptures dominating the floors while paintings with crutches, dolls and fencing span the walls. There are drawings of Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Florence Griffith Joyner.

The last room held, as my TAP told me, “musings on the tenacity of the human spirit.” This exhibit told a difficult tale but this story ended on a light and resilient note, more of a “happy honesty” than the “hard truths” found in earlier rooms.

When I was in elementary school my parents read The Chronicles of Narnia to me and my brother at bedtime. In the books, four children explore a fantasy world by transporting through different portals, chiefly a large Victorian wardrobe. It’s difficult for me to explain how I feel before, after and during an exhibition. But I think it’s something like stepping through that wardrobe; exploring a different and unexpected world that can be beautiful, possibly scary, but always interesting. When I exited Hard Truths, only an hour has passed, but I felt like I’ve traveled very far. My point is–there is something deeply calming about getting away; going through the proverbial wardrobe and exploring the beauty of something that you’ve never conceived.

Dial states, “You can hide the truth, but you can’t get rid of it. When the truth come out in the light, we get the beauty of the world.” I think that art is truth.

You're looking at the future of ArtBabble.

About the content:

We launched in ’09 with 6 content partners- which was no small feat. But now we have 28 partners! This is THE driving force behind the website’s success- fresh material all the time, from around the globe. So, while having so much more content is a great problem to have, it’s a problem that needs to be solved. The videos have been bubbling onto the site at a rapid pace, leading to a confusing navigation and interface experience. You heard it here first, watch out for a new design in 2011! And let’s face it, the user interface could use a graphic refreshment at this point as well. I’m excited to get the new stuff we are working on out there. Stay tuned!!

About the technology.

The biggest thing that has changed in the past year or so is the release and adoption of HTML5 on web browsers, and smart phones. Equally as important was Apple’s choice to not include Flash on the iPhone (a decision I fully support). Problem is, we use Flash to deliver the video currently. This won’t be the case for too much longer! By converting our video player over to HTML5, we will be making the content a lot more accessible for loads of smart phone and iPad users. Currently, there is not way to stream videos onto a smart phone, so this will be a great new transition.

Oh, and then there are some new, top secret educational features we are working on that will dramatically change the way educators and students can consume all of the great content our partners have been so hard at work creating. But more on that later…

Ask us, and well, after last week, we might have to say Felder Rushing. IMA TV stopped to chat with the Southern gentleman in the Oldfields orchard while he was at the IMA for his talk as part of our Planet Indy series. Check out the latest IMA TV episode and you’ll see why we’re crazy for this offbeat gardening guru.

So back in March as the snow began to recede I would regularly peer out into the drab naked trees with great anticipation of watching them green up and return  to the former glory of last summer.  As luck would have it someone shared this link with me around the same time.  It’s the Timelapse group on vimeo and there are some breathtaking videos created via time lapse photography

Here is one example that blew my mind.

This all got me thinking.  What if I stuck a camera facing out of our window for a month and took a photo every half hour?   Well, sounded like there was only one way to find out.   So here is 1 month of spring as taken every half hour, condensed into 23 seconds.

Watch as the gardens go green.

(via weheartit)

In honor of Earth Day, we pulled together some eco-friendly videos for your viewing pleasure. Get your green on:

Tonight! Can garden design be a subversive act? At this Planet Indy talk, on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, offbeat garden guru Felder Rushing addresses “slow” gardening for cheapskates, alternatives to the oppressive lawn, and irreverent approaches to horticulture that are also more sustainable.

Rushing is a 10th-generation American gardener from Jackson, Miss., whose quirky cottage garden has been featured in many TV programs and magazines, and includes a huge variety of weather-hardy plants and a collection of folk art. Rushing is the author or co-author of 15 gardening books and co-hosts a public radio call-in garden program.

So what’s Crispin’s mission at the IMA? To present a taboo-busting film he co-directed called It is Fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE! It’s a journey into the psyche of a kinky, bloodthirsty guy with cerebral palsy. Crispin calls the film a response to the question: “What does it mean when a culture does not properly process taboo?”

He’s referring to the fact that the major film studios tend to pre-censor material that is darkly ambiguous or productively disturbing, thus preventing our ability to wonder, question and learn from cinema.

So Crispin has taken the making of challenging films into his own hands. He uses the proceeds from his roles in films like Hot Tub Time Machine to fund independent film projects at his new sound stage in Prague.

Joe Shearer of the local website The Film Yap did a great interview with Crispin (to be posted soon) in which Crispin expounds on his mission as an artist.

Crispin’s Toby April 24 appearance will include the 74-minute film, a one-hour narrated slide show, Q&A, and book signing. He is committed answering every fan question if it takes all night. Tickets are $15 for IMA members and $20 for non-members. It’s open seating; doors open at 6:30 pm.

This culturally adventurous event is co-sponsored by Big Car, Indianapolis International Film Festival, and the Naptown Roller Girls – some of whom will act as ushers, rolling up and down The Toby’s steep aisles.

Racer Xtasy (via Marc L)

What’s your favorite (or least favorite) Crispin role?

The Pharmacy prescribes the following links to combat Monday online anemia.

racked.com

Blog: Racked

Yes it’s NY Fashion Week, but don’t settle for the same old fashion bloggers. Introducing Katie, the pint-sized five-year blogging sensation. She may be petite, but don’t be fooled—she’s got a knack for accessorizing, a bold eye for color, and an avant-garde edge (check out those tights!). And she’ll be coming at you every day during New York Fashion Week on Racked National. (via racked.com)

ArtBabble Video: Catherine Opie: American Photographer

Catherine Opie confesses, “I’ve never seen the work together before,” speaking of her Surfers and Icehouses series. Both share the common narrative of “temporary communities,” as she calls them. The exhibition provided audiences with an unprecedented opportunity to examine the many interconnections between her diverse bodies of work, which, as she says, are all characterized by “these little moments that are recognizably human.”

For further information about the exhibition, visit Catherine Opie: American Photographer .

Preparing for the Matinee by Edmund Charles Tarbell

Tweet:

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

List name

List link:

@katefranzman/

Description

Under 100 characters, optional

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Create a new list Update this list

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked — Unblock

Blocked — Undo

Blocked and reported for spam — Undo Learn more

— Undo

Pending — Cancel

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked and reported for spam — Undo

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

List name

List link:

@katefranzman/

Description

Under 100 characters, optional

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Create a new list Update this list

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked — Unblock

Blocked — Undo

Blocked and reported for spam — Undo Learn more

— Undo

Pending — Cancel

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked — Undo

%{user} blocked and reported for spam — Undo

danielincandela: My blog recapping some projects while @imamuseum and the next adventure at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. http://bit.ly/aQpzBN

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

Create a new list

Update this list

×

List name

List URL twitter.com/morningnutbags/

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked

— Unblock

Blocked

— Undo

Blocked and reported for spam

— Undo

— Undo

Pending

— Cancel

• Mention user
• Direct message user
• Follow user
• Unfollow user
• Block user
• Unblock user
• Report user for spam

• New list

Create a new list

Update this list

×

List name

List URL twitter.com/morningnutbags/

Privacy

Public — Anyone can subscribe to this list.

Private — Only you can access this list.

Are you sure?

Switching your list from public to private will remove all of its subscribers.

Find people to add to your list:

Search for a username, first or last name, business or brand

You can also add people from your Following page or anyone’s profile page.

This list doesn’t follow any users yet. It probably will soon, though.

Following

Blocked

— Unblock

Blocked

— Undo

Blocked and reported for spam

— Undo

— Undo

Pending

— Cancel

I highly recommend watching this in fullscreen mode.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

The truth is, I really haven’t traveled that much in my life. Part of that has to do with the fact that I’m afraid of flying (like really really afraid.) But, for the sake of ArtBabble, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Los Angeles last May. Fellow Nugget Danny and I documented the whole experience with photos and video. On our trip we met a lot of interesting people and dogs and enjoyed the sunshine, the warm weather, and (Danny especially) fresh tacos.

The reason we traveled was to film on location the construction of Andrea Zittel’s project, a large floating island to be installed in the lake of 100 Acres back in Indy. The island was fabricated by Barnacle Bros studio in East L.A. where upon arrival, we were greeted by a cast of characters led by a heavily tattooed man known as Smilee Barnacle. They brought us up to speed on the project and led us around the work shop,  which looked more like a carnival parade storage room than any kind of studio! The interview we did with Smilee turned out to be pretty hilarious:

And here are some pictures I snapped throughout the day. You can find more here.

That's Danny filming Smilee and crew

Shop dog

From the desk of Mr. Barnacle...

The colorful alley behind Barnacle Bros

Danny filming Smilee as he explains what materials were used for the island

There in the middle of the shop sat a snow-white igloo, which on closer inspection was not made of snow, but foam. And even better, it really looked like it would float! Smilee and his team used homemade tools to claw, shave, and mold the foam into a smooth, round shape. I can only imagine the spraying bits of foam as they hacked away at the towering mound of white.

It's snowing in L.A.! (standing in a pile of foam bits)

Here’s an interview we did there with Andrea to get a little more background info on the whole project.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when the Barnacle crew brought the island to Indianapolis… only to be greeted by chilly temps and mud in the Art and Nature Park… Indiana at its finest! There was a lot of activity in 100 acres lake that week. Both the island and Eden II are now floating in the lake for all to see.

I felt kind of sorry for Andrea and the Barnacle Bros, wading around in the frigid lake, because their visit to Indy was a cold and damp one. Then again, they get to experience the beautiful California weather all year ‘round. (Special thanks to Smilee, Theresia and the whole Barnacle Bros. crew, Andrea, and the cool cats at The Getty for their kind hospitality.)

It sure was sunny in California but I think I’ll stick with Indiana. I’m kind of partial to the sunsets.

I snapped this photo outside my house a couple months ago