Artistic Muse--TRIP 3 (2012)



Unusual plants lined the
outdoor pathways of IMA.

Heading out early from the motel, we looked for the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). "We had trouble finding it two years ago," said Andy, "and then it was closed on Mondays.  we only walked around the outside then."

As blue sky broke through, we snapped
outdoor pictures and headed inside.

A turn off the highway took us into the poor side of northern Indianapolis.  Here we saw results of the recession.  In a six-block area, more than 11 houses were boarded up.  At one I saw a raggedly dressed man poking his head between the slats of plywood.
"Is that set for redevelopment?" I asked.
"No," said Andy. "Those have all been foreclosed.  That's just people who lost it all, and there are a lot of them."
We checked in early at the IMA, driving in well before it opened.  After some debate about where to park (all the signs warned about locking vehicles), we settled on the main lot, picked up a garden map and strolled the grounds for two hours before the museum opened.

White River State Park
featured large sculpture.

"You have to get another picture of the LOVE statue," demanded Andy.  "How about photographing some of the flowers too?  Those are loaded with honey bees and bumblebees."
"Okay," I agreed.
"And look! There's a hawk in the tree! Or is it an owl?"
In two hours, we saw the large and the small. We observed it all.
When the museum opened at 11:00 a.m. we were ready for the indoor art, and there was a great deal more of it than we had anticipated.  Four expansive floors of famous artists--painting, sculpture, fashion, ceramics, pottery, woodwork, furniture, everything imaginable.
"That's a Picasso!" I noticed on the second floor of the Indiana Museum of Art (IMA). 
"Yes," agreed Andy.  "I had no idea this museum was so expansive and notable. It's incredible."
It was Ma Jolie, the painting Pablo Picasso created for his lover, Eva Gouel. About the painting he had explained," I paint objects as I think of them, not as I see them."

Today, the Canal Walk glistened in the afternoon sun.

Next to the Picasso was the 1922 Henri Matisse Woman Seated in an Armchair. I was impressed.  In the more than 152 acres of gardens and grounds, the IMA collection exceeded 54,000 works of art--works like Paul Cezanne's House in Provence (1886), Paul Gauguin's Landscape Near Arles (1888), Vincent Van Gogh's Landscape at Saint Remy (1889), Thomas Gainsborough's Landscape and George Romney's Portrait of Mrs. Mary Robinson (1780).
We meandered through the European Art and Design wing on the second floor for an hour, looking at art from the 12th to the late 19th century, including paintings and sculptures by Van Dyck, Goya, Rodia and Panini; Dutch still lifes and landscapes; 18th century French paintings, as well as works by Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Seurat.

Andy poses with a mastodon
in front of the Indiana State Museum.

For a break after the first hour, we headed downstairs to the Cafe for coffee. Well dressed patrons lounged in overstuffed chairs, most having lunch. After our break, Andy and I explored the fourth floor with a wide-ranging collection of contemporary art: sculpture, painting, photography, drawing, prints, video and installations created since 1945.

Standing on the steps of the Indiana State Capitol,
visitors can view Memorial Circle downtown.

The third floor displayed more than 300 objects of African and oceanic art, displayed thematically. These included wooden figures and masks, textiles and ceramics from all parts of Africa. In addition the third floor featured more than 4,000 years of art from China and Japan. A featured exhibition of women's costumes and accessories from 19th and 20th century Europe and America included a red Bill Blass gown that belonged to First Lady Nancy Regan. 

From the top, the fountains and obelisk
form a magnificent outline
against the clouds.

Returning to the second floor gave us time to browse the Clowes Pavilion with a collection of paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, El Greco, Ribera, Caravaggio and Jan Brueghel.

The Soldiers and Sailors
Monument, 333 steps to
the top, pays tribute to
Indiana servicemen. 

The Davis Lab displayed Maya Lin's sculpture Above and Below. Lin was the grad student whose design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was chosen for Washington, D.C.  We ended our tour in the wing of American Art and Design, viewing art by Americans from the late 18th century to 1945, including that of Winslow Homer, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic Remington and Edward Hopper. The Native Art of the Americas gallery featured art by ancient peoples in North and South America, from about 3000 BCE to about 1500 AD and by American Indians in the U.S. and Canada. It was overwhelming.
I sat down near the entrance, exhausted from trying to absorb everything.

The 1861 War Memorial stands tall in the
center of downtown Indianapolis.

At 3:00 p.m. we headed back downtown toward Canal Walk.
"We're going to stroll where we didn't walk before," said Andy.
"I thought we did it all!" I told him.  I got a dirty look!
Instead of finding new paths, we retraced our path from yesterday and re-shot all the pictures with a gorgeous backdrop of azure blue sky and puffy white clouds.  We even sat on one of the wooden park benches along Canal Walk and watched the mallards browse.  The Canada geese were gone and someone had considerately swept all their droppings to the edge of the concrete.  The monuments downtown etched stark outlines against the blue sky, and flowers seemed to burst into colorful bloom as brilliant rays shot from behind billowing clouds overhead.  The cold front had come through, chasing away all the humid warmth.  Walking was truly a pleasure in every way on this crisp, glorious fall day.