Latest rotation of temporary art arrives at IND

INDIANAPOLIS – New art exhibitions have joined the temporary art program at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). On view through March 8, 2015, the installations are located in the Ticket Hall and Concourse B display cases.

Earth and Sky Coat

Lafayette-based artist Charles Gick’s Earth and Sky Coat pays homage to the act of traveling through space, referencing time, land, and sky. A farmer’s work coat, made overly large, hosts hundreds of tiny bags made from natural fabric containing soil collected from rural Indiana landscapes. They are joined by hundreds of small timepieces, like wristwatches and pocket watches, containing images of the sky or retaining their original workings.

“I would like airport visitors to experience the vastness of both the earth and the sky in this piece,” says Gick, “with the illusion that the sky is spilling out from the interior of the coat.”

The artist’s goal is to help travelers think poetically about how they have chosen to dislocate themselves in time and place, and see their situation as liberating rather than stressful.

Arcanum Research

The nature of personal experience is examined by Indianapolis-based artist C. Thomas Lewis in his installation of objects and artifacts from a personal construct known as Arcanum Research. Sculptures and photographs chronicle efforts into investigating inexplicable phenomena; the viewer is challenged to compare what they know to what they see, and to decide for themselves how much to believe.

“Arcanum Research enables me to explore the nexus of art and science,” Lewis notes, “and present concepts relating to mystery, fiction, reality, pseudo-science, alchemy and capitalism.”

A related video project will be on view starting January 2, 2015, above the main escalator between the departures and arrivals levels in the airport.

Live, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry

Indiana-born artist Tré Reising is fascinated with the world of social media and interpersonal interaction, and how the nature of presenting one’s lived experience has taken on entirely new forms with mobile technologies. Emoji – small digital icons, often of faces – are a shorthand way to express feelings without actual words, circumventing language barriers and often creating grammatical systems all their own. Is this the future of effective global communication? Viewers are invited to photograph and share the physical emoji Reising has fabricated, entitled Live, Love, Laugh, Laugh Until You Cry.

The IAA’s program of temporary installations, which focuses on contemporary art by Central Indiana artists, is curated through a partnership with the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

About the artists

Charles A. Gick is a professor of art in the department of art and design in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he teaches painting, drawing, and installation art. He holds an M.F.A. from Northwestern University and a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute. As an interdisciplinary artist, Gick combines video, performance, painting, photography, and assemblage and has received national and international recognition for his work.

C. Thomas Lewis received his B.A. from Philadelphia’s University of the Arts and his M.F.A. in film from the California Institute of the Arts. He worked professionally in video and film production in Los Angeles for the motion picture industry while also maintaining his personal video and photography pursuits, which include both creative and documentary works. Most recently, Lewis created two video exhibitions in Indianapolis, particularly the ambitious multi- projector installation From Now On (2013), which used new video-mapping technology. He is also the co-founder of the non-profit group Word on the Street Inc., creator of the Cool Bus, a program that upcycles books and brings them to young readers in underserved communities of Indianapolis. Thomas is a lecturer in media arts and sciences in the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Tré Reising is a craft sculptor specializing in creating physical artworks to memorialize the more ephemeral aspects of digital, hip-hop, and rap culture. He grew up in Columbus, Indiana and received his B.F.A. from the Herron School of Art & Design, IUPUI. Reising is a recent M.F.A. graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and his work has been featured on MTV, Young-Space, Art-F City, Trend Hunter, and Buzzfeed, among others. Recently he has investigated imagery relating to such figures as Justin Bieber, Gucci Mane, Project Pat, and Jamie Franko, aka RiFF RAFF. Reising lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, building sets for the fashion industry.

About the Arts Council of Indianapolis

The Arts Council of Indianapolis exists to create meaningful engagement in the arts by nurturing a culture where artists and arts organizations thrive. The Arts Council serves as Indianapolis' arts service agency, providing funding, programs, services, and support to the arts and cultural community and working artists of Central Indiana. The Arts Council owns and operates two performance and exhibition spaces, the Indianapolis Artsgarden (attached to Circle Centre Mall) and Gallery 924 (at 924 N. Pennsylvania Street). Two of its newest initiatives are online resources for arts patrons and audiences. Power2give provides an online cultural marketplace where donors can find interesting arts projects and provide support through online contributions. The Indy Arts Guide provides a comprehensive up-to-date arts calendar featuring thousands of events, performances, and exhibitions throughout central Indiana. http://www.indyarts.org

About the Indianapolis Airport Authority

The Indianapolis Airport Authority owns and operates Indiana’s largest airport system. In addition to the Indianapolis International Airport, its facilities include the Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport, Indianapolis Regional Airport, and Metropolitan Airport. IND has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing it as a leader within its class, including best airport in North America in 2010, 2012, and 2013 in Airports Council International’s annual Airport Service Quality awards. IND is the first airport in the U.S. to win LEED® certification for an entire terminal campus, and the airport has won additional recognition for excellent customer service, concessions programs, and art and architecture.

IND generates an annual economic impact in Central Indiana of more than $4.5 billion, without relying on state or local taxes to fund its operations. About 10,000 people work at the airport each day. IND serves more than 7 million business and leisure travelers each year, and averages 135 daily flights to 37 nonstop destinations. Home of the world's second-largest FedEx Express operation and the nation’s eighth-largest cargo facility, IND is committed to becoming the airport system of choice for both passenger and cargo service. For more information, visit IND’s Facebook page at Indianapolis International Airport and Twitter page at @INDairport.