Happy summer to y'all! I'm excited to make some announcements and act as your personal tour guide of some of my favorite exhibits at The Indianapolis Museum of Art.
My blog postings for the next few months will be about museums through my eyes – including pictures, my thoughts on the collection, etc. This first blog will be free and available to everyone, but, for future access to posts in this series that will include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Art Institute in Chicago, the Cincinnati Museum of Art, the Dali Museum, and other great places, you must become a Patron at the $5/month level. JUST $5/MONTH GETS YOU ACCESS TO THIS MATERIAL IN WHICH I PUT A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT AND ENERGY; YOU PROBABLY SPEND MORE THAN THAT EACH DAY ON CAFFEINATED BEVERAGES. ;D At the $15/month level, you get access to the blog content AND a hand-painted 3” x 3” canvas panel magnet created by yours truly! ☺
The Indianapolis Museum of Art
The first museum to which I’m going to introduce you is literally close to home for me and is not without controversy over the last few years. However, some good people are doing the best they can to improve its image and its impact on the community, so I will continue to support them the best way I can. Check out their website.
The Indianapolis Museum of Art is just over 2 miles from my house in Indianapolis. Notice I DO NOT call it ‘Newfields’ even though that’s its official museum campus name. The name never has made sense to me, and it still doesn’t. The terrible name even made the national news in this article! Just before the name change, the admission went from free to $18 to now $20 as of a couple of weeks ago. Again, there was a lot of displeasure expressed, and many believed the entrance fee would be prohibitive to people being able to enjoy it. However, free admission days and free programs were introduced and continue to thrive.
The most serious controversy that threatened the very existence of the museum and its place in the community was a tone-deaf job announcement seeking a new director in February 2021; unfortunately, this story made the national news as well. To the museum’s and the community’s credit, response was angry and swift, and museum membership thoughts and opinions were heavily considered in its next steps as well as the community at large. The person responsible for the job announcement was removed. The IMA continually seeks community and membership input in its practices and programs; the community just needs to hang in there with it the best they can because there are GEMS on the property.
So, let me introduce you to my IMA gems! ☺ There is a great LOVE sculpture near the main exhibition level and a series of numbers sculptures on the grounds both by Robert Indiana.
There is also a stunning sculpture on the grounds by David Kresz Rubins called Stumbling Man.
A local actor sometimes gives programs portraying various artists. Here are shows when he was Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol!
An interactive LUME level was recently installed on the 4th floor; it’s inaugural show featured the glorious Vincent VanGogh.
A Monet experience begins on July 3. The IMA has decent representations and works from the art world including Paul Gaugin, Georgia O’Keefe, Pablo Picasso, Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent, and what has catapulted to one of my top five paintings ever…Lee Krasner’s Towards One.
Again, the IMA has faced challenging days recently even without a pandemic, but I know good-faith effort is being used to make it a resource and place welcoming to EVERYONE. It’s close to home, and I will support it. So, if you’re in Indianapolis, hit me up for an IMA visit; my membership gets both me AND a guest in for free! :D
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