Indianapolis museums

LOVE statue is now 53 years old

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LOVE outside at the IMA in the early years

Robert Indiana was born in 1928 as Robert Clark. He changed his name to Indiana in 1958 to show his roots in the Midwest. His first widespread use of the stacked four letters of “LOVE” was a Christmas card in 1964 for the New York Museum of Modern Art. This design creation led to the LOVE sculpture constructed of Cor-ten steel in 1970. LOVE in steel was first put on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It made the rounds of several American cities for five years until it returned to the IMA. After needed restoration was performed due to weathering of the steel, it is now displayed inside the museum building to protect it from the elements.

Permanent display inside the IMA

Remember 8 cent stamps?

The design was also the inspiration of a USPS 8 cent stamp in 1973. Countless copies of the statue were made and sold over the years, however Robert Indiana had failed to copyright his design, thus he did not reap the benefits. He died at the age of 89.

 

Another large vintage 1970 art work

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De Wain Valentine was born in Colorado in 1936. He is known for his translucent glass, fiberglass and polyester resin minimalist creations. Of the same time as Robert Indiana of the LOVE sculpture, Valentine has a fine piece in the same gallery room at Newfields (IMA) in Indianapolis.

Vintage 1970 Double Concave Circle (Deep Violet-Red)

Above is the ID plaque at the museum with information about Valentines art

This is an impressive 8 foot tall circle of polyester resin. What we found fascinating was the fact that this striking red circle is a mere 20 feet or so from the Robert Indiana LOVE sculpture. Both were made in 1970. De Wain Valentine lives in California, and developed a unique resin for large scale pieces.

Indianapolis Newfields The Lume: Van Gogh experience

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Today we thought we’d share some more of the visual displays at The Lume: Van Gogh interactive show at Newfields (formerly Indianapolis Museum of Art). This is the link to yesterday’s post.

The video above is a short one, but it does give a real flavor of the types of visuals that were presented in the digital presentation. This is one of Van Gogh’s self portraits.

Self portraits by Vincent van Gogh

Many of the panels in the presentation were of the many portraits that Van Gogh painted, both self portraits and of other people. He was very prolific with his portraiture works. The one above with the straw hat was painted in 1887.

His painting of his bedroom in Arles, France

A life size portrayal of his bedroom

Sher checking out the table in the painting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole experience is not an end all biography of Van Gogh. Several panels provide short paragraphs similar to chapter titles, preceding examples of his works in the referenced time frame. There are lots of other sources of detailed information, including detailed descriptions/stories about specific paintings. It is a marvelous visual and auditory experience, and in our opinion a wonderful way to spend an afternoon at the museum.

 

A Dino Christmas at the Children’s Museum

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The dinosaurs at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum are decked out in their Christmas regalia this year. Stop by and wish them a Merry Christmas!

Dinosaur

Even the dinosaurs are celebrating the holidays at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is not only the world’s largest but it presents the finest Christmas celebration with a marvelous series of holiday activities sure to please the child in everyone.

Make sure that you visit the Children’s Museum website for all of the details including times open and a list of the activities. There are ticket plans available that will save your family a lot of cash.