Farewell Indy Tour Day 4: Final Friday at the IMA

Today I noticed a tweet from the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) reminding everyone that their Final Friday event was tonight. The last Friday of each month the museum puts on a party of sorts with multiple bars, snacks, music, and art. I had long been planning to go, so I invited Kelsey to join me. We arrived around 6:45 and had a light snack in the museum's cafe before heading up to admire the art. We did the usual rounds to see all our favorite pieces before heading into the Ai Weiwei exhibit. 

I didn't know much about Ai Weiwei other than that he was called "the most controversial artist in the world" and that he is currently not allowed to travel outside China because he is being censored by the government there.  I found nearly all his work thought provoking and much of it beautiful.  Several pieces that seemed unrelated by style or material or subject were connected by a reflection on the nature of power. I was thrilled by the fact that special docents were stationed throughout the exhibit to engage the audience about the art work. I learned a lot from the several who approached me, and I appreciated their enthusiasm. 

A map of China, it stands over 5 feet tall so you can't see across the top of it. Ai Weiwei meant to impress upon the viewer the enormousness of China. 

Parallel bars filled with wood, this piece has to be taken completely apart and then reassembled at the next location when the exhibit moves. It's meant as a memory of his father, who was banished to what was essentially Siberia to clean toilets for 15 years after criticizing the governments suppression of free speech. 

Han Dynasty vases dipped in industrial paints. 

38 tons of rebar from schools destroyed by the earthquake in China in 2008. The mangled rebar was straightened and displayed with the names of over 5000 children who died as a result of the earthquake. 

Outside the exhibit the museum had set up a special station to make your own art. We each received a piece of wire and the instruction to make it into a word that described ourselves. Some of the loopier letters were quite difficult to form, especially after I had changed my mind about what word to make and bent and unbent the wire several times. 

the words left on the table

Kelsey with her wire word: hope

By the time we had finished with our wire art the Pakistani band called the Kominas had started playing. Their music was catchy, leading Kelsey and I to sort of dance our way through the contemporary art exhibits. We took a picture in the special "photobooth" before we headed out for the night.  

I took some low quality pictures the two Monets at the museum, as they are among my favorite pieces there.  

I have got to remember to charge my Nikon. These iPhone pictures simply won't do.