Latest temporary art exhibits on display at IND

The next series of art to be featured in the Indianapolis Airport Authority’s (IAA) dynamic temporary art program has arrived this week and is on display in the main ticketing hall and Concourse B at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). IND’s temporary art program introduces innovative new works to the airport space while complementing the IAA’s robust permanent art collection.

The latest exhibits showcase a master in the field of wood sculpture and an artist whose unique take on the collage medium is a nod to the increasing diversity of Indianapolis’ international communities. The installations feature the work of artists with ties to the local community and will be on display through Nov. 10.

BETTY SCARPINO – WOOD SCULPTURES
Indianapolis-based sculptor Betty Scarpino has worked in wood for more than thirty years. Her pieces start with an object that has been created using a lathe, in a process known as turning, which she then cuts apart and continues to work by carving it or adding other turned elements. Her design process includes carefully considering the wood’s natural grain, creating a variety of textures within the piece and developing shapes that are inspired by a sense of the “universal feminine.” Attention to detail in the final surface finish completes the cycle, with a resulting sculpture that is fluid, full of life and movement, organic, and sensuous. Betty’s work can be found on Concourse B in the display case near the connector to Concourse A.

Considered a master in her field, Betty’s work has been placed in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC), the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in North Carolina, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, among many others. She considers the pleasure of becoming lost in the creative process as integral to her life, and she believes her creative endeavors are a pathway for the uniquely human activities of giving and receiving.

BEN VALENTINE - COLLAGE
The medium of collage is explored in two projects developed by the Indianapolis nonprofit arts organization Big Car. To highlight the growing international culture of Indianapolis, Big Car invited artist Ben Valentine to create a collage that would speak to the experience of international travel. The resulting whimsical installation combines various cloud images sourced from the Internet, visually encapsulating the experience of moving between cultures and geographies through a space that is open to the individual imagination.

This project is complemented by a collage created by students at Gambold Preparatory Magnet High School of IPS and Enlace Academy on Indy's west side and facilitated by Big Car teaching artists Megan Hart and Tom Streit. Vividly colorful and fun, the collage illustrates an array of textures, cultures, and images of foods from Saraga International Grocery Store in the Lafayette Square neighborhood, where 70+ languages are spoken.

The two collages are themselves visually collaged together, forming a multilayered experience for the viewer. Two versions of the collaboration are featured, installed in the north and south display cases facing Civic Plaza in the ticketing hall.

Ben Valentine was raised in Richmond, Indiana and attended Earlham College. He is an artist, writer, and curator currently based in Berkeley, California. His artistic practice frequently uses crowd-sourced and found images to comment on popular culture and the engagement of people with their environment.

Big Car brings art to people and people to art, sparking creativity in lives to transform communities. Its programs boost urban livability, invigorate public places, and support better neighborhoods using an engagement-based arts perspective. One of Big Car’s major programs is Service Center for Community & Culture, a repurposed retail store in the Lafayette Square area that functions as a community gathering place and urban garden.

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 and 2012 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 recognition for excellent customer service, concessions programs, and art and architecture.

IND’s economic impact in Central Indiana is more than $4.5 billion annually, and about 10,000 people work at the airport each day. IND serves more than 7 million business and leisure travelers each year and averages 137 daily flights to 32 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.