Spike-a-delic 06 -- This Friday!
On Friday, make plans to attend iMOCA's Spike-a-delic '06. A fundraiser for Indy's only contemporary art museum, the format this year involves three teams of artists creating found object art on site with objects the audience brings them. A jury will select a juried award and the crowd will select an audience favorite.
How will it work? You bring an object with you (or pick one out from the objects on site) and give it to one of the artist teams. They'll incorporate it into the work they're creating at the event that night. There will be a silent auction plus wine/beer, a tequila ice sculpture fountain, and food from Ruth's Keystone Cafe and Sushi on the Rocks.
The artists?
Jeff Martin: Jeff is a well known local artist and former owner of the J. Martin Gallery. Martin creates sculptures and installations and has exhibited in Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. He's a frequent presenter at IMA and the Herron School and active with IDADA and Primary Colours.
Brian Presnell, Joel Pinkerton, and Cory Robinson: This team features local artist Brian Presnell who many folks saw for the first time at his iMOCA solo show "I'm Brian Presnell." Presnell will be working with Joel Pinkerton, a Louisville, KY artist who frequently works with found objects.
Eric Wallentine: Eric is an Indiana artist who works primarily with natural materials and is probably best known for his terraria -- glass box works with small natural microcosms inside.
It will, of course, be wonderful to see what these artists create from found objects -- and how they do it, but it will be made even better in knowing that you are supporting contemporary art in the city. In addition to the main events, a silent auction includes some pretty cool art experiences:
* Ticket package for Miami design week including Scope, NADA, and Art Basel along with a guided tour of NADA, VIP passes to Art Basel, and a few other special invites and a Basel catalogue.
* A New York art trip including airfare and two guided tours of Chelsea galleries -- with lunch natch.
* A Chicago art trip including a private west loop gallery tour with gallery owner Tom Robertello, passes to the MCA, and hotel.
* Several guided tours of exhibitions and galleries in Indianapolis with local artists and curators will be available letting buyers get a chance to really meet and learn from local experts in art.
* Emily Kennerk tour -- Artist Emily Kennerk will personally tour her exhibit next year at the IMA with the buyer of this package and also provide a signed print.
Plus a number of other very cool art experiences including 3-hours of studio time with portrait artist Constance Edwards.
The jury will include Steve Campbell, Deputy Mayor for the City of Indianapolis, Cathleen Nevin, Attorney at Katz & Korin PC, and Mark Ruschman, owner of the Mark Ruschman Art Gallery and preside of IDADA. And the crowd will also choose their favorite for the evening!
It looks to be a fun evening and I hope to see many of you there!
Spike-a-delic '06, a fundraiser for iMOCA
Friday, September 29, 6:30 -10:00 p.m.
@ the Van Riper Gallery at the Stutz
Tickets: $55 non-member, $45 members, $25 students
RSVP to 634-6622
Day of Miscellany
I'm a half of a pot of coffee into my Sunday morning and working my way through a mountain of small bits that have collected on my desk in the past few days. In true fashion, I'm passing the miscellany on down to you, gentle readers. (I know it's been quiet around here lately but fall deadlines are upon us.)
Photographs by Mpozi Tolbert at iMOCA: Friday, saw a great number of familiar faces at the Mpozi Tolbert opening at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. Make time to see this exhibit which is up through the end of October. Tolbert, who died unexpectedly almost three months ago, had a knack for capturing the whole story in one shot. These images show you the lives, attitudes, and drama of people by dramatically showing us their faces, their body movements, gestures, and eyes. A well-selected group of photographs.
Carson/Dickerson and Center Township: My political friends have commented lately that I've been oddly silent on the IN-7 race with Carson and Dickerson. Frankly, it's because just when I get over being physically disgusted by Julia Carson, she pulls another tacky move like her smear of Dickerson last week. You can believe what you want about Dickerson and his past issues. Frankly, it was 15 years ago and I'm inclined to cut the man some slack. But let the guide of your vote be one overwhelming issue -- who will serve us best in the US Congress?
Carson is an embarrassment to the State of Indiana. Her ultra-liberal views are not representative of the city of Indianapolis and the district she serves. She has not shown a strong ability to serve in the US House of Representatives. She is in extremely ill health, and already has a serious attendance problem. Her sole ability to accomplish anything with her office has recently appeared to be an ability to hold together a complex network of local officials deeply entrenched in Carson-centric entitlement jobs and programs. Very little in this campaign has been about her national views or work for Indiana in the House. She could have ended this Carson center bar fiasco with one word and hasn't. (Everyone she knows is involved from her chief-of-staffs wife to her primary and literal "support".) The GOP isn't innocent of blame in this either. They could have supported Dickerson in this campaign. And Dickerson should be making more of this Carson debacle than he is. The seat is a national office and we should send someone who could at least rise to the occasion. I'm ready to send Eric Dickerson to Washington to give him a chance.
Best Coverage Out There: Once again, I'm extremely impressed with the job
Advance Indiana has been doing on coverage of not only the Carson center bar issue but also the problems with the coroner's office and the Carson/Dickerson campaign. It all begs the question of why hasn't the Star been able to come close to equally covering these stories? Star editors will complain that it takes time to track down the facts and get sources on the record, and that's absolutely true. But the wide gaps in the depth of coverage suggest that the assignments aren't being pushed to begin with. If simple bloggers are able to get more factual information in less time than reporters, (Advance Indiana, like most of the rest of us, has a day job) what does that say about the priorities being set for reporters?
Morton Marcus on Blogs and Journalism: And speaking of blogs doing a better job than reporters, Morton Marcus asks why there isn't a blog on journalism in Indianapolis. In his
column this week in the IBJ, he asks where is it that serious news junkies can comment on coverage of the news. I think Mr. Marcus hasn't been paying attention to a lot of the blogs doing this very thing. Read the comments section in any number of active Indiana blogs and you'll find readers wondering where the Star is on several major stories today (and often thanking bloggers for coverage that traditional news outlets aren't providing.)
RIP -- Texas Governor Ann Richards
I'm sad to note the passing of an icon in American politics and one of the most visible women in government in her time -- former Texas Governor Ann Richards. I didn't always see eye-to-eye with her politically, but I've loved her ever since college. It was the time when I found myself actually following in my parents footsteps, watching every second of coverage of both political conventions. Richards made quite an impression as she spoke about George W. Bush and his frequent gaffes. "Poor George. Born with a silver foot in his mouth." Her wonderfully drippy Texas accent was perfect for sarcasm. She could take what could be a very nasty comment and say it with a smile on her face for a great laugh -- and more importantly, a great impact on her listeners. That was before she was immortalized on the famous (infamous) Texas Monthly cover riding a motorcycle in full gubernatorial leathers. (It was photoshopped. See
last year's post for more.)
She served one term as Texas governor before falling to newcomer George W. Bush (and his Texas election machine of Karen Hughes and Karl Rove.) She had been battling cancer for a the past few years and
died yesterday. She was 73.
Dave O'Brien and BMV Bingo
It's not usually a good day when radio personalities make the off-air news, but in this case, it's just fine. One of my favorite people in town, Dave O'Brien, is making news waves with his late vehicle registration by playing BMV Bingo on his popular morning show. Dave -- half of the on-air duo Wank and O'Brien -- does mornings on Emmis' Hank FM. (He and partner Ed Wank helmed the popular 93.1 before moving over to anchor the re-vamped Emmis station last year.) In an interview with
Indychannel, O'Brien makes it very clear that he sent in his vehicle registration renewal the day he received it in June. The registration expired July 31. And to date, still no registration -- hence BMV Bingo. What does it take to get on easy-going Dave's bad side?
...O'Brien said he was seriously upset by an interview that BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman did with 6News on Aug. 2. During that interview, Silverman said that motorists customers [sic] with July 31 registration renewal deadlines should have made their transactions on time despite the computer mess.
"The thing that I have the problem with the BMV the most about was when Joel Silverman said that people who had not received their registration yet were probably at fault for not sending it in enough time," O'Brien said. "And, again, I sent mine in the day I got it."
Listeners call in choosing the day he'll get his registration in the mail. Winner gets a spa gift certificate.
Day of Miscellany -- Bosma and Body Cavity Searches
Other than type up another rant about Bosma wasting everyone's time and money with his "no-Jesus-in-the-Statehouse" lawsuit, I thought I'd share with you a few of the gems that struck my fancy this morning. OK, some of them struck my funny bone. And having a blog post strike your funny bone is a lot better than whacking it on the nightstand like I usually do. Brian Bosma and full body cavity searches? Nope -- not a single mention here about the new Statehouse security.
Bosma Argues Case at US Court of Appeals: Oh, let's just get it out of the way. Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma's lawsuit opened yesterday in Chicago at the US Court of Appeals. Bosma is convinced this suit may go all the way to the Supremes. What he conveniently keeps forgetting to mention -- as he promotes this as fighting for prayer in the Indiana house -- is that he already has a ruling allowing him to pray all he wants. He just has to keep it non-sectarian and back off the Jesus praising (along with the hand clapping, holy roller Gospel performances.) Oh, and by the way, he wants you to know that he spent $67,000 of taxpayer money on this lawsuit. He's going to pay it back, promise! Just as soon as he gets enough to people to donate the money. Riiiiiggght.
From the Star.
Playing the Race Card: Tim Goodman over at the Bastard Machine has an excellent post on the upcoming season of Survivor where teams will be split by race (instead of age or sex as they've been split in previous seasons.) Goodman, who is the television critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, reminds us that Mark Burnett knows exactly what he's doing and that ultimately, no matter how you divide tribes, if you get it right, the Survivor format works.
If I absolutely must get involved in this moldy fracas, let's remember a couple of the elements at play here. 1) The idea [is] old. 2) Cynicism alert - "Survivor" wasn't very exciting last season. I've watched every single episode since the franchise - which essentially opened the door for the reality TV revolution - first aired. Last season was boring. I even vowed never to watch it again. To move on. So when I heard there was going to be a "race war" on "Survivor," I smiled knowingly. A timely play, Mr. Burnett. Well done. Next year: "Survivor: Everybody's Nude."
What Else Do They Keep In There? And you knew it. The minute you saw this article this morning, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist a link. Bottom line: There are just too many good headlines for this. Four inmates in an El Salvador prison were busted for
hiding cell phones *in* their bodies -- along with batteries, chargers, and memory chips. The x-rays are the best part. Don't tell the Indiana speaker's office. Bosma might want to get involved in the new statehouse security system next. (There's a bad lobbyist joke in here but I'm not going there.)
Housekeeping
You'll notice a few posts have been removed by the "administrator". I'm not censoring anyone, just cleaning up a recent round of spam that seems to have slipped past the capchas on the posting page. Just wanted to let everyone know I didn't nuke any comments that weren't specifically related to penis enhancement. (If I had a penis, maybe I'd be more concerned.)
Julia's Health: The Elephant in the Room
What is up with Julia Carson's health? Is it as bad as it appears? While she is campaigning, she appears to be frail and having difficulty breathing. Somehow, it seems to have become an off-limits topic. When did it become taboo for a candidate to tout the literal unfitness of his oppenent?
If she's sick, if she can't serve, if she's having trouble traveling, or fulfilling her duties, she should withdraw her candidacy. And if she's still able to serve, but not likely to fulfill her term or duties, we as voters shouldn't feel bad about not returning her to DC. I'd love to see some information coming out to voters about the actual situation since I don't think many know how truly ill she is -- or appears to be -- unless they've seen her in person. Dickerson needs to get tough with this race and asking honest questions about her fitness should be one way to do it.
New Ideas for the Carson Center
The Star has an update today on the status of Polin Park and the zoning variance for the bar township cronies want to put in the Julia Carson Government Center. Gary Welsh over at
Advance Indiana also has an update -- or rather, what the Star reporter missed. Carson herself finally has come out against serving booze in the building and thinks the project will be rejected by the Metropolitan Development Commission. "There's just been too much drama about all this."
From the Star: Ayers [David Ayers, Carl Drummer's new publicist] said he did not know what would become of the space if the zoning variance is not granted.
Since this is, you know, the Julia Carson government center, and, of course, given the neighborhood, and, presumably, some kind of mission to serve the population or constituents of the area, let's give them some ideas on how to use that extra 2000 sq feet now that it won't be a bar. Don't forget the nifty deck area.
Day Care Center
Afterschool Program
Teen Support to Prevent Dropouts
Sports/Teen Center
Counseling Services to Prevent Gun Violence
Job Training and Placement Services
Tutoring Programs and Reading Services
Parenting Classes
Financial Services Training
Business Planning/Mentoring
I'm sure we can help them come up with all kinds of ideas! Of course, none of these will nearly as fun for those currently involved as a restaurant/bar, but let's look at this like a business. Restaurants are some of the highest risk businesses to start (but everyone wants one). Plus, bonus, when you run a job conseling center, it's a lot safer for you to just get in your car and drive home.
