Indianapolis Museum of Art

My older sister just got home from a 2-month medical missions internship in Ivory Coast, a little country in West Africa. She had an amazing time and learned loads about Ivory Coast, African culture, medical care, and living in a developing country, and you can read some of her thoughts from her journey over at her blog, A Thousand Sunrises. Anyway, when my family went to Indianapolis to pick her up, we spent the day at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Wow. 

There was so much to see, it was incredible. Beautiful gardens, fascinating sculptures outdoors, and amazing art inside. I could have gladly spent weeks exploring the museum and getting to know each of the paintings! I was thrilled to find two Edward Hopper paintings, a Rockwell, and a Picasso, to name a few. Another great thing: admission to the park and permanent collection are both free! They do charge non-members for tickets to some of the special exhibitions, but the majority of the museum and grounds is free to the public. 

Some highlights for me: 

"Landscape at Saint-Remy" by Vincent van Gogh

If you thought Van Gogh's work looks awesome in a book or on a computer screen (or on print reproductions and a myriad of household objects), just wait until you see his work in real life. The texture just comes to life! There is so much more movement. If you like Van Gogh, or art, or breathing, you have got to see one of his paintings in person. 

"Landscape Near Arles" by Paul Gauguin

As with the Van Gogh, this piece really came to life in person. The vertical brushstrokes made it feel so much taller than it was. I love that something so simple as the direction of the brushstrokes can add so much more feeling to a painting!

"House in Provence" by Paul Cezanne

I love Cezanne's landscapes. The simple, subtle blocks of color make it seem, to me, both effortless and very intentional. 

"Charing Cross Bridge" by Claude Monet

Let us not ignore Monet's squiggly line-work.  

"The Boy" by Amedeo Modigliani

Modigliani's flat, elongated shapes, and the boy's mask-like face, are perfect for this melancholy piece. It makes me wonder what has the boy feeling so down. Is he being kept in from recess? Is he in time-out? Did his pet turtle die, or did he scrape his knee? 

"Self-Portrait, 1629"

My friends, I will never grow tired of Rembrandt and his multitude of self-portraits. Once again, the texture in this painting is so much more visible in person, and oh how lovely that texture is!

"Bronco Buster" by Frederic Remington, 1895

I'm not big on the sculpture scene. It's probably my feelings of bitterness at never having had much success with 3-dimensional art myself.. I'm just not drawn to scultpure the way I am to 2-dimensional work (get it? Drawn? Oh, I crack myself up. Feel free to groan at my bad puns). That being said, Remington's Bronco Buster will never get old for me. It will never become commonplace, boring, or anything short of perfection in my eyes. I absolutely can not get enough of this sculpture! There is so much detail, and for a rather small piece, too (it stands at 23 1/4 inches). I have loved this one for years, and I think I always will.

This concludes my post for the day, but I plan to discuss some of my other favorites from IMA in the near future, so keep your eyes peeled for more amazing artwork! And be sure to comment and tell me about your favorite artwork. If it's in this list that's awesome, and if not maybe I'll talk about it soon...? Finally, go check out IMA sometime, you won't regret it! (and no, they're not paying me to say that, although I wouldn't mind if they did)

-Cailey