Indianapolis Island

Last updated

Indianapolis Island
Indianapolis Island Zittel.jpg
Indianapolis Island
Artist Andrea Zittel
Year2010 (2010)
Dimensions300 cm× 610 cm× 610 cm(120 in× 240 in× 240 in)
Location Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Coordinates 39°49′47.9″N86°11′22.5″W / 39.829972°N 86.189583°W / 39.829972; -86.189583 (Indianapolis Island by Andrea Zittel (2010))
OwnerAndrea Zittel and Andrea Rosen Gallery

Indianapolis Island is a public artwork by American artist Andrea Zittel, located in the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The artwork consists of an inhabitable, white fiberglass structure that is mounted onto a floating dock system and installed in the park's lake. Each summer season it is occupied by resident(s) who can choose to modify the island's structure and interior design according to their own individual needs. [1]

Contents

Description

The artwork is in the form of an organic, rounded pod structure that is approximately 20' in length and has a domed roof. The structure is made from expanded polystyrene foam, which is then coated with a fiberglass-resin matrix and a white Gelcoat mixture. After the Gelcoat cures, it functions as a protective shell for the initial foam layers as well as the interior living space. The artwork is complete with a wooden door, mounted with its own knob and lock hardware. The structure contains a circular front deck area where the fiberglass slopes at an angle, creating a built-in seating area. There is a rowboat that is brought out to the lake's shore seasonally to provide transportation to and from the island for the current resident(s) and his or her visitors.

The objects contained within the living space are in constant flux, in congruence with the transient nature of its inhabitants, who are seasonal, temporary residents of the island. Indianapolis Island is installed in the park's 35-acre (14 ha) lake. It is floated on a permanent dock structure that is anchored by two concrete blocks from the shoreline.

Historical information

Andrea Zittel, and her A-Z Enterprise, focus on designing and fabricating artwork and installations that draw their inspiration from modern design aesthetics and functional living spaces. [2] Zittel has been exploring the concept of creating habitable islands for years and her artwork, Indianapolis Island, correlates with her ongoing theme of blurring the lines between life and art. [3] The artist anticipates the installation being used as a living space inhabited by temporary residents who will then modify the space according to their own individual needs. As a result, the island is capable of constantly morphing and evolving into a different space, both physically and conceptually. Andrea Zittel commented on the concept of Indianapolis Island in saying,

The idea of an island appeals to me as representation of many of the values that we strive for in our 21st-century culture: individualism, independence, autonomy, and self-sufficiency. Yet at the same time, these are the same desires that isolate us and lessen collective social and political power. I am fascinated at how the things that set us free are also the same things that oppress us; you could say that the concept of the deserted island is both our greatest fantasy and our greatest fear. [4]

Island residency

The residency completed by Dunn and Runge focused on the interaction and exchanges between island dweller and visitor. Their mission was to embrace the "give and take" nature of the artwork and reflect the concept of adaptation and evolution within their own personal experiences as well as their interaction with the public. [5] During Dunn and Runge's stay on the island, the public was able to access and share their experiences through a wide spectrum of interactions. These experiences included personal Island visits, Island trades, floating lectures, floating messages, and communication through blogging.

Ball's residency focused on bringing awareness to the water quality of the 100 Acres lake and included developing a system that utilizes the filtering properties of mushrooms that may help reduce the level of contaminates and E. coli bacteria in the water. Her approach employed mycofilters constructed from burlap, wood chips, and mushroom mycelium. [6] [7]

Bitterman spent six weeks interacting with 100 Acres and its visitors in order to explore the question "What is wild?" Using devices typically found in carefully mediated areas of wilderness like national parks, such as an informational kiosk and viewing stations, Bitterman inserted himself into the habitat and pulled viewers into the artistic experience. [8] Bitterman crafted many methods for viewers to interact with him, such as using his invented lexicon of hand signals (Bitterman remained silent except when wearing a transcendental beaver suit), bringing him food, and tracking him via GPS. [9] His blog, including instructional video, can be found here

During "Island Fever," Simaitis invited park visitors to communicate with the island through an on-shore radio that transmitted signals to Indy Island by way of two smaller, floating satellite islands. These smaller, outlying islands were made from Igloo coolers, and outfitted with an audio system, radio receivers and transmitters, and large keel fins to prevent the islands from tipping over. Simaitis prompted visitors to reflect on cosmic relationships and diplomacy at an onshore phone booth, and to then transmit their messages to Indy Island. On the island Simaitis would operate a ham radio station and transmit visitors messages into space by way of a UHF Microwave transmitter with a tiki torch for an antenna. He also had an HF Transceiver that he used to listen for radio signals around the world. The entire project was solar powered, with the intention of having the electronics become operable only when the sun was out. For the project Simaitis earned his General Class amateur radio license, operated under the call sign KI5LND, and kept a blog which can be found here. [10]

Location history

This artwork was fabricated by Barnacle Bros: Sculpture & Custom Fabrication, a professional fabrication studio based out of Los Angeles, CA. [11] The company's founder, Alessandro Thompson, and his associates transported the artwork in segments to Indianapolis, IN, and finished its fabrication on site at the IMA along with Zittel, who was also present for this process. The artwork was installed on the floating dock system and launched onto the lake in April 2010, and ready for the park's opening in May 2010. [12]

Acquisition

Indianapolis Island is currently on temporary loan at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Condition

Indianapolis Island is reviewed monthly from the shore to determine any major impact from its lake location and to check for any type of dock failure. The artwork is also periodically examined within close proximity, via rowboat, in order to accurately assess any major defects in the structure. These trips take place seasonally, with more frequent surveys taken place in the months directly preceding a new resident's occupancy. Documentation of the contents within the living space is considered an important component to the artwork and is an ongoing project.

See also

Related Research Articles

Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically accessible to the public; it is installed in public space in both outdoor and indoor settings. Public art seeks to embody public or universal concepts rather than commercial, partisan, or personal concepts or interests. Notably, public art is also the direct or indirect product of a public process of creation, procurement, and/or maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floating island</span> Island (natural or artificial) made of floating plants, mud, and peat

A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Sometimes referred to as tussocks, floatons, or suds, floating islands are found in many parts of the world. They exist less commonly as an artificial island. Floating islands are generally found on marshlands, lakes, and similar wetland locations, and can be many hectares in size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Museum of Art</span> Art museum in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a 152-acre (62 ha) campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It is located at the corner of North Michigan Road and West 38th Street, about three miles north of downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery. There are exhibitions, classes, tours, and events, many of which change seasonally. The entire campus and organization was previously referred to as the Indianapolis Museum of Art, but in 2017 the campus and organization were renamed "Newfields" as part of a branding campaign. The "Indianapolis Museum of Art" now specifically refers to the main art museum building that acts as the cornerstone of the campus, as well as the legal name of the organization doing business as Newfields.

Andrea Zittel is an American artist based in Joshua Tree, CA whose practice encompasses spaces, objects and modes of living in an ongoing investigation that explores the questions "How to live?" and "What gives life meaning?"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Mattingly</span> American artist

Mary Mattingly is an American visual artist living and working in New York City. She is the recipient of a Yale University School of Art Fellowship, and was a resident at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center from 2011 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum</span> Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is located in St. Michaels, Maryland, United States and is home to a collection of Chesapeake Bay artifacts, exhibitions, and vessels. This 18-acre (73,000 m2) interactive museum was founded in 1965 on Navy Point, once a site of seafood packing houses, docks, and work boats. Today, the museum houses the world's largest collection of Chesapeake Bay boats and provides interactive exhibits in and around the 35 buildings which dot the campus. The museum also offers year-round educational seminars and workshops.

<i>Bench Around the Lake</i>

Bench Around the Lake is a public artwork by Danish artist Jeppe Hein, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The artwork consists of fifteen individually designed yellow interactive bench installations strategically placed throughout the park location. Some of the benches consist of multiple components or sections within one site.

<i>Stratum Pier</i> Large outdoor artwork in Indiana, U.S.

Stratum Pier is an interactive overlook by American artist Kendall Buster. The functional sculpture is located at the Indianapolis Museum of Art's 100 Acres: Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park.

Jason deCaires Taylor is a British sculptor and creator of the world's first underwater sculpture park – the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park – and underwater museum – Cancún Underwater Museum (MUSA). He is best known for installing site-specific underwater sculptures that develop naturally into artificial coral reefs, which local communities and marine life depend on. Taylor integrates his skills as a sculptor, marine conservationist, underwater photographer and scuba diving instructor into each of his projects. By using a fusion of Land Art traditions and subtly integrating aspects of street art, Taylor produces dynamic sculptural works that are installed on the ocean floor to encourage marine life, to promote ocean conservation and to highlight the current climate crisis.

<i>Eden II</i>

Eden II is a public artwork by the Finnish artist Tea Mäkipää, located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a mixed-media installation, consisting of a derelict ship on the lake and a guardhouse and its equipment on the shore. It was commissioned in 2010 by the Indianapolis Museum of Art for its sculpture garden, known as the 100 Acres Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres</span> Public art park in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, also referred to as the 100 Acres or Fairbanks Park, is a public interactive art park located on the Newfields campus in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

<i>Team Building (Align)</i>

Team Building (Align) is a public artwork by American artist collective Type A, located on the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which is in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was commissioned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art for their 100 Acres Park sculpture garden, which opened in 2010. It consists of two 30' aluminum rings suspending in midair, aligned such that their shadows merge at noon on the summer solstice.

<i>Funky Bones</i> Public artwork by Atelier Van Lieshout

Funky Bones is a public artwork by Atelier Van Lieshout, a Dutch artist collective led by Joep van Lieshout, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, which is on the grounds of Newfields in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The artwork, primarily made from fiberglass, consists of twenty white and black bone-shaped benches.

<i>Park of the Laments</i>

Park of the Laments is a public artwork by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar, located in the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The artwork consists of an enclosed park space in the form of a square placed within a square, the inner parameter being made from limestone-filled gabion baskets, and the outer from indigenous trees and shrubs. The park space is only accessible by a concrete enclosed tunnel. The installation has a landscape design that consists of over 3,000 individual plant species from 53 different genera.

<i>Free Basket</i> Public artwork by Los Carpinteros

Free Basket is a public artwork by the Cuban artist group Los Carpinteros, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The artwork is in the form of an international basketball court with twenty-four red or blue steel arches that travel throughout the court, mimicking the trajectory of two bouncing basketballs. Two of the arches terminate with their own regulation size basketball hoop, netting, and backboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Stratton-Porter Cabin (Rome City, Indiana)</span> Historic house in Indiana, United States

The Gene Stratton-Porter Cabin, known as the Cabin at Wildflower Woods and the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, is the former home of Gene Stratton-Porter, a noted Indiana author, naturalist, and nature photographer. The two-story, fourteen-room cabin, which was built in 1914, is located at Sylvan Lake near Rome City in Noble County, Indiana. Stratton-Porter lived full-time in the cabin from 1914 through 1919, then relocated to homes in California, where she continued to write and founded a movie studio. She returned to Wildflower Woods in Rome City for brief visits until her death in 1924. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Chris E. Vargas is an artist and video maker whose work explores the ways that queer and trans people negotiate institutions and popular culture. Vargas is the founder of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory and Art (MOTHA), a project that blurs artist and curatorial practice. MOTHA has no permanent space, instead it has been presented at venues such as the Henry Art Gallery, Cooper Union, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Hammer Museum. Vargas videos have screened at SFMOMA, Ann Arbor Film Festival, Pacific Film Archives, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MIX NYC, Palais de Tokyo, Outfest, amongst other venues. Vargas completed a BA at University of California Santa Cruz and MFA at University of California, Berkeley.

Harrison Center is a community-based arts nonprofit based in the Old Northside Historic District of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The center hosts 36 artists in 24/7 studios, eight galleries, and serves 93,000 annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-Z West</span> Compound and art center in Joshua Tree, California

A-Z West is an 80-acre compound and artwork by artist Andrea Zittel, located in the Mojave Desert in Joshua Tree, California. Zittel conceived of A-Z West as a project to explore psycho-social aspects of day-to-day living, "what it means to live," and functional systems for desert life. Zittel lived in A-Z West from 2000 to 2022. Artworks previously created by Zittel on the A-Z West compound include The Wagon Station Encampment, Regenerating Field (2002), and Planar Pavilions at A-Z West (2017).

References

  1. ↑ 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. Indianapolis Museum of Art. 2010. ISBN   978-0-936260-88-4.
  2. ↑ Freudenheim, Susan. "'I Want to Create a World, and Live in It Completely'" (PDF). ArtNews. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  3. ↑ Art 21 on PBS. "Andrea Zittel". PBS . Retrieved 2011-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Art 21 Blog (21 January 2010). "The Island in 100 Acres: An Interview with Andrea Zittel" . Retrieved 2011-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ Peters, Nicole; Richard McCoy (2011). "The Outdoor Sculptures of 100 Acres: A Report for the Objects and Variable Art Laboratory at the Indianapolis Museum of Art". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Indianapolis, IN.
  6. ↑ Herrmann, Angela. "Katherine Ball: Living on Indianapolis Island". NUVO Newsweekly. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  7. ↑ Katherine Bell. "No Swimming, 2011 Indianapolis Island Residency (residency blog)" . Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Indigenous (June-July 2012)". Indianapolis Museum of Art . Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Shoger, Scott (29 Jun 2012). "Nature is not your friend: A. Bitterman on Indy Island". NUVO . Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  10. ↑ "2013 Residency". Indianapolis Museum of Art. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Barnacle Bros: Sculpture & Custom Fabrication" . Retrieved 2011-08-29.
  12. ↑ Sheets., Hilarie M. (June 29, 2010). "100 Acres to Roam, No Restrictions". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.