Eternal Funk - review of "Soul and Funk: The Naptown Sound" - April 27, 2005

Exhibit Review
By Mary Lee Pappas
Soul and Funk: The Naptown Sound
Indiana History Center
Through Dec. 31

Actor Samuel L. Jackson greets visitors to Soul and Funk: The Naptown Sound at the Indiana History Center’s Rapp Family Gallery, evangelically hollering, “The Church of Eternal Funk is open!” from a TV screen swathed in floral orange fabric circa 1972. Outkast performing “I Like the Way You Move” starts to drown out his voice during this video from the 2004 Grammys’ Funk Tribute. It’s a booty swinging overture for a look into Indianapolis’ own unique funk scene that arose from political and cultural shifts in the African-American community during the 1960s and ’70s.

Stevie Wonder’s voice singing his 1972 hit “Superstition” greets visitors upon walking into the small exhibition space where assortments of disco lights waver in the dimness. The music bounces through the gallery. A black velvet portrait of a blue Afro-ed Stevie, Op art fabric art and an orange shag wall hanging further set the tone for the spirit of the era and the music.

Faux brick walls suggest the historic African-American Indiana Avenue strip of music clubs lost to the construction of IUPUI. More than music, this exhibit sadly only brushes the surface of what black residents in Indianapolis were challenged with during these times. Unigov, initiated by then Mayor Richard Lugar, unified city-county government and added 250,000 more whites to the voting base. City planners razed African-American neighborhoods for IUPUI and Interstate 65, leaving people displaced and underrepresented. These local events underpinned the music and culture of the time and could have been delved into further for the sake of depicting our local history in a truthful, and in this case, not so sanitary light.

But fabulous interactive components allow visitors to thoroughly engage with the funk music and musicians who created what’s become known as the Naptown Sound. Local promotional posters for Rufus Thomas, The Vanguards, The Rhythm Machine and even one for Ayr-way’s Soul Browser Center flank a room outfitted with a 1950s chrome kitchen table made to look similar to Club TBD. Pick up a phone on the tabletop and listen to Rodney Stepp, jazzman and producer formally of the Spinners, talk about buying a Beatles record on Illinois Street. Hang out at one of the Funk and Soul listening stations to hear local funk hits including The Highlighter’s famous track, “Funky 16 Corners.” Written by James Bell in the bathroom of the Ford Motor Company where he worked, this song contains what has been called the greatest soul scream of all time — that’s a heavy-duty distinction. Open a salvaged stage door and bear witness to a “Superfly Doodad” or two, like a guitar or a wide-collared stage costume. Or just boogie down on the exhibition dance floor.

Though small, this exhibit is overloaded with features and data that require a lot of time to thoroughly absorb. Despite the overstuffed, climbable, platform shoe, the show is better suited for adults than children unless your child has a penchant for funk. This exhibition, despite its success as is, could be realized on a bigger scale with even more interactive components like maps of the Westside neighborhoods or a WTLC disc jockey booth where you could select your own Naptown Sound rotation. As great as it is, it’s only halfway there. Visit www.indiana45s.com for more on the history of Indianapolis funk and soul and www.indianahistory.org for more on the exhibit. Through Dec. 31; 317-232-1882.

Seducing unsuspecting audiences - Tom Otterness in Indianapolis, various public locations - April 27, 2005

* Pictured - "Male and Female Tourist" is part of Tom Otterness' installations in Indianapolis.

Tom Otterness’ collection of 25 bronze sculptures of various sizes have unavoidable impact. With pieces like “See No Evil” perfectly poised in front of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, they are hard not to encounter. Visually accessible with sculptural protagonists characterized by playful, bulbous bodies and anthropomorphic, iconic smiley (and unsmiling) faces, they successfully seduce unsuspecting audiences.


“Big Big Penny,” a sculpture on the steps of the World War Memorial, does this exceedingly well. A top-hatted capitalist character recalling Monopoly’s Rich Uncle Pennybags sits atop a big penny with a drink in hand and nuclear family at his side while trying to steady himself as a poor family rolls the penny from beneath him. Two little male workers (with realistic parts) kiss next to the penny as if unaware of the turmoil while another worker gets squashed.

Most works, with context being key, are smart and complicated social commentaries, particularly the “Tree of Knowledge” at the City Market. This tiny revolution has multiple layers of interpretation that could easily inspire insightful conversations as well as photo-ops with tourists and families. It, like so many other pieces on view, is a commentary on the little guy’s plight to get ahead and the ugly side of capitalism.

Otterness’ ability to parlay conflict and disenchantment through initially sweet, pudgy, harmless looking characters has effectively provoked public interest (meaning usurped or not) by simply being enjoyable to view, as successful public art should do. A prime example of this charm is seen in the smallest piece in this collection, located outside of Starbucks on the Circle, of a pint-sized panhandler, “Boy and Dog.” Though sweet at first glance, upon close inspection it defies Disneyfication.

Otterness’ approach and refinement of craft have garnered him places in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum. His pieces are beautifully, sympathetically conceived from their materials.

Now the question becomes whether Indianapolis will be able to maintain this quality of public arts exhibitions and arts philanthropy. Who in Indianapolis will match and continue this level of public patronage now that this precedent has been set?

Tom Otterness in Indianapolis runs through July 31, www.indyarts.org. Thanks to the Arts Council’s Mindy Taylor Ross and the Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust for giving Tom Otterness due credence and bringing his exhibition. Simon made a $50,000 grant. The Cultural Development Commission funded $238,000. Through July 31. - Mary Lee Pappas

Oldfields-Lilly IMA Gardens Tour - Indianapolis Museum of Art - April 13, 2005 - 4 stars

Metasequoia glyptostroboides. It’s a tree that was once thought to be extinct and known only through fossil records until it was discovered in China in 1941. Specimens were collected in the mid 1940s, then cultivated in the U.S. One such conifer emigre exists where the former grass tennis court was on the IMA grounds. I learned all about it while taking a volunteer-guided walk through the IMA's gardens last Saturday. The Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens have been lovingly restored to their 1920s splendor. From the European copper beeches to the tulip trees and Carolina Alispice bushes, the nuances and significance of the IMA landscape was explored on this hour-long tour. I'll be back for another tour midsummer when the oak leaf hydrangea are in bloom. Guided walks through the IMA’s gardens are offered from April through September at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Groups meet at the Lilly House entrance. 317-923-1331. -Mary Lee Pappas

"They Will Never Go To Sleep..." - Big Car Gallery - April 13, 2005 - 3 stars

This is the first exhibition in this new 1,250-square-foot gallery space located on the second floor of the Murphy Arts Center featuring work by Josh Johnson, John Clark and Jessica Robinson. Johnson's work is, frankly, touching. Seven green washed paintings recalling comic book cells titled "Life of an Organ Grinder Monkey" tells the tale of a baby monkey plucked away from its mommy in the jungle only to sail across an ocean to become a fez-wearing sideshow entertainer. The pencil drawn monkey possesses such subtle expressions (even with his hollow Orphan Annie eyes) that his fear and other emotions immediately connect with the audience. John Clark shows four new large-scale surrealist works while Robinson offers up dream-like scenes of oil and graphite on mylar, like "Cattle Drive," where 23 bulls and the multitude of horns behind them suggest an unreal scene of hundreds packed together. The artists' collective known as Big Car, a non-profit public relations company serving other non-profits, will be offering many unique events to the city which include multigenre collaborations. This space will also be shared with Motus (www.motusdance.com), an experimental dance company. Visit www.bigcar.org to get acquainted with this new group that wants to push the art scene forward without competing. Though April 30, 2005; 317-339-0911. –Mary Lee Pappas

John Detweiler: "Soliloquies" - Galerie Penumbra - March 23, 2005 - 3 1/2 stars

As the title suggests, these works are explorations into the artist's personal thoughts. Detweiler does this exceptionally well through subversive images that are momentarily unsettling to view, but ultimately extremely appealing. The tactile quality of the marble dust and earth infused acrylic paints on plyboard lends a calm, sympathetic mood to what otherwise could
be unsettling images - a dog missing one eye, or the woman missing her features in "Passage." A chalky, sunny yellow peeks
around her right shoulder while the blue haze covering where her eyes could be has a stippled, gritty texture. She's smiling. The dark fields surrounding the protagonists in these pieces create a cavernous and contemplative feel. If you have not yet visited Galerie Penumbra, I recommend you do so while this show is up. Through April 21, 2005; 317-508-8043. -Mary Lee Pappas

Jan Scott Boyer - Utrillo's Art - March 23, 2005 - 3 1/2 stars

Herron Gallery was the last to host a look at Jan Scott Boyer's "Allism" outsider works in the fall of 2003 during the OUTside In show. Now, a collection of old and new works, which are steering away from Allism, are assembled at the most unique and unquestionably eclectic art venue downtown, Utrillo's Art. A former plein air artist turned outsider artist, Boyer's paintings are like mazes composed of layers of unlike images. Common motifs include Easter Island-looking heads and forms, tiny dinosaurs and solid circles of colors, or what have been called balloons. The carefully painted tiny lines, dots and images intricately assemble complicated abstracted scenes that happen to look rather sophisticated. "Environment," the newest painting here, features dozens of his Polynesian looking ancestral heads in varying scales with green boxes of color dispersed among them. The result is a pleasure to view. Thrift art and salvaged frames can also be found at Utrillo's.
Through March 26, 2005; 317-684-9883. -Mary Lee Pappas

"Just Cause, Just 'Cuz" - Harrison Center for the Arts - March 16, 2005 - 1 1/2 stars

The HCA explained that this show "Juxtaposes the formal and the informal relationships in the worlds of law and art."
Photocopied information from the Internet on copyright registration for artworks and "Form VA" used to copyright art was available, but other than that the connection between art and theme was lost. And, an FYI to all artists, your work is copyrighted automatically upon being created. Was the theme perhaps designed to appease or garner the Indiana Bar Association and the Indiana Lawyer as sponsors? Attorney Sally Zweig, a great patron of local artists, helped select work for the show, but that hardly qualifies the designation of this as a juried show, particularly since she owns work by artist(s) selected. Is that fair? The predominantly brown-colored artworks looked very sparse in the space and, with the usual HCA suspects having their work displayed, had a same, stale quality. The exception was work by photographer Larry Endicott, who consistently brings quality to the local art table. His inkjet photos on handmade paper of an economically diverse Malaysia are treated in such a way that the images have a surreal and contemplative quality. Shows in this great gallery are starting to look the same. Through April 3, 2005; 317 396-3886. -Mary Lee Pappas

"Discovering Chimpanzees: The Remarkable World of Jane Goodall" - Children's Museum of Indianapolis - March 16, 2005 - 3 1/2 stars

Jane Goodall once remarked, "Researchers ... don't want to admit that they [animals] might have minds and personalities because that would make it quite difficult for them to do what they do ..." You will likely share her sentiment upon experiencing this exhibit. It's important for children to get familiar with their fellow inhabitants on the Earth and learn to appreciate them; it's necessary for parents to get a reminder also. This exhibit brings Goodall's work with chimps in Gombe to light. It's irrelevant that the exhibition quality isn't quite up to snuff; it successfully engages the audience with hands-on activities like chimp arm extenders so you can walk like a chimp through the forest staged in the center of the exhibit. What better way to gain appreciation for the intellectual capacity of this primate than by being able to climb into one of its nests or learn how to "talk" as they do. A Gombe chimp family timeline showing family relationships between chimps, family structure and genealogy is a powerful component that may inspire a new generation to be conscious of environment and social issues. Visit www.discoveringchimpanzees.com to preview the exhibition. Through May 30, 2005; 317-334-3322. -Mary Lee Pappas

"Interpretations of the Figure" - Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center - March 9, 2005 - 4 stars

The human form is one of the most prominent subjects in all of art history alongside, or in conjunction with, sex and religion. Take, for example, the 25,000-year-old "Venus of Willendorf" or Jan van Eyck's "Ghent Alterpiece." Building from mask and skull foundations, societies throughout the ages have developed their own ideas about the human condition reflected through artworks. In this exceptional University of Indianapolis gallery exhibit, Davida Shulman starts, however, with her flesh. Obese, her nude "Self Portrait with Postcards" is beautiful and grotesque at once with her voluminous skin being a focal point for this great painting. Overt and well expressed influences aside, this painting hits many marks successfully. Depicting a body at rest or in motion, with hyperrealism or abstraction, is a necessary component of every artist's training. Adding emotion and meaning, as the majority of works do in this show, kicks the significance up a notch. Pamela Deaton's life-sized "Plant Sacrifice," an abstracted female representation suspended from the ceiling, arms outstretched, is composed of dark brown earth with tree roots, acorns, leaves and Silver Maple seedlings packed into earthy putty. The meaning (connectedness to the earth and all that entails, the life of the female body) is profound. Every single work in this regionally juried show is deserving of mention
and should be seen. There are bronzes (a fine piece by Pat Mack, for instance), glass works, with sculptures staggered through the space on 12 white pedestals. Everything worked together. Fortunately, the U of I gallery space, a square room with high
ceilings and light parquet floor, has effective lighting - an asset for this art. Through March 18; 637-4574. -Mary Lee Pappas

Art and Soul, 2005 Fine Arts Exhibition - Artsgarden - February 23, 2005 - 3 1/2 stars

Eleven batik works by lzo are displayed in faux bamboo, brushed gold frames that compliment the work perfectly. Displayed this way his batik fabrics are given the fine art treatment they deserve. These paintings, composed by painting layers of wax on cotton, then dying them multiple times and adding sunshine, have an aesthetic beauty that reflects Izo's Dakar, Senegalese roots, but also possess an artistry that is definitely unique to this artist and batik master. Each piece is better than the next. "Sunset," of two white stylized figures side-by-side yet stretching apart from each other (the design of which is very sculptural), stand against a canary yellow sky with a red circle between and above them. Two-toned fish scale, rounded greenery surrounds them. The vibrant colors that evoke heat are broken by veins of black that threads through, sometimes bleeding into dark green. This adds a depth and texture that occurs naturally with this refined fabric process. lzo demonstrates great skill with his compositions. This is exceptional batik art not to be missed. Learn more about Izo at www.izobatik.com. Jospeph Holiday also has his work on view. Though Feb. 27; 317-631-3301. - Mary Lee Pappas

Regional Scholastic Art Competition - Harrison Center for the Arts – Feb. 23, 2005 – 4 stars

The talent here was terrific, particularly when juxtaposed against the group show of local “professional” artists in the HCA’s current Chapel Gallery show, “Chapel of Love.” It’s a reminder that art is made from a deep place. One of the many amazing works was a self-portrait by Benjamin Sunderlin, a Jefferson High School student. He’s sitting on the floor painting (a symptom of an intense painter), squinting and assessing himself painting the portrait. What’s on view was harnessed through pretty typical classroom drawing and painting exercises, but the work from Jefferson High School was pretty atypically great. For instance, Kaitlin Wadley’s moody portrait of a girl looking down (in a bus?) gives a glimpse of a story, of a person, that’s compelling beyond being well-composed and well-painted. Sam Martin’s clown nose (very Doris Hails) pastel portrait with its green tinted shadow is another astute piece. Here we see a young artist who realizes that life is not black and white, but that even dark shadows have color. Carmel High School student Margo Simm’s drawing of a dress was also worthy of mention in this very inspiring show. Show ended Feb. 20, 2005. 317-514-6787. – Mary Lee Pappas

“Superwomen” - NCAA Hall of Champions – Feb. 9, 2005 – 3 1/2 stars

Images of obvious female sports superstars like Jackie Joyner-Kersee, sit next to some obscure, though equally as exceptional, female sports figures in this empowering exhibit. Jodi Buren, the photographer behind this work, has had her images grace Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Time magazines. The collection of images in this traveling exhibition are all 30 by 40-inches and depict these athletes in such a way that their personalities hit you before the depiction of sport. Most striking is sprinter Aimee Mullins, a Paralympian and the first double below-the-knee amputee to compete on a Division I track team. What gets your attention first is that Aimee is a knockout blonde. She’s posing on her back leaning up on her elbows with her ponytail going down the length of her back –she’s tough, provocative, and she’s sexy. Her prosthetic lower limbs, a vocal point of her portrait, hardly seem unnatural. Boxer Kathy Collins’ portrait is of her face and a glove. Kathy’s survivor vulnerability and strength are the essence of the image. In every piece, colors pop with rich vividness. Women seen here, from US National Team Biathlon member Denise Whitton, who’s portrait consists of her face covered by her poised rifle with only her eyes visible, to the fluid and feminine image of six-time world record holder free diver Tanya Streeter, define beauty, perseverance and triumph in a way that makes you want to get to know their personal stories. This exhibit, like all NCAA exhibitions, is pristinely presented, approachable, and thorough. Visit.WomensSportsFoundation.org for more information about women in sports and about the accompanying book for this show. Through May 28, 2005; 317-916-HALL. - Mary Lee Pappas

2005 Annual Student Show - Indianapolis Art Center – Feb. 9, 2005 - 3 stars

Quality and talent seen in the youth entries of this annual show is super-impressive, a credit to the talented staff who understand how to harness their young students abilities. Christopher Eley, age 11, had two of his glass works selected including “Feather of Glass,” a beautiful clear vase with delicate dashes of subtle confetti colors. Becky Gunderman’s (age 16) painting “Liane,” a merit award winner, shows uninhibited color and great freedom in defining the figure seen at an unlikely overhead angle. Quality in the adult categories, on the other hand, is a little hit-and-miss. Terre Haute elementary school art teacher Anna Chalos-McAleese’s sculpture “Thetis” easily earned its best of show title. People were drawn to peer into it whether they knew what to make of it or not. To me, the name itself “Thetis” suggested an abstraction of the immortal daughter of Nereus. A popular art subject for centuries, the mood of Thetis’ desperation, hope and endurance translated here through the softness, the cushioning effect of the work. Also of note were Mark Sauerburger’s canary yellow, opaque glass vases and, in the underrepresented fabric/fibers category, Caryl Rae Hancock’s entertaining raincoat and rainbow dress, “Dancing the Rainbow.” Through March 6, 2005; 317-255-2426. - Mary Lee Pappas

“Next in the Gallery…” - Herron Gallery – Feb. 2, 2005 – 4 stars

A great show of unlike works that visually mesh cleanly together is what this current installation of “Next in the Gallery…” successfully presents. New to the current configuration of artists are the astrophotographic works of Scott Johnson that intelligently manipulate technology into remarkably serene images of the cosmos. His approach infuses hours of film exposure, special optics, and varied observatory locations to create amazingly surreal and transcendental translations of the universe. His work represents another artistic category. The caliber of work in this show by all artists in it is superb and should not be missed. Through February 24, 2005. www.herron.iupui.edu. 317-920-2420. – Mary Lee Pappas


• Unpublished comments: The talent in the room is rather overwhelming to be completely frank about this particular show. To begin with, the toyish 2d/3d work of Chicago artist Karl Wirsum is perfectly playful as his vividly colorful and patterned characters cling and flank the walls heightening their sense of animation. His flawlessly smooth paint application and color sensibility effectively give more than life, but personality to his pieces even with their skewed perspectives and jello jointed anatomy. On the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, Toronto photographer Edward Burtynsky’s large scale post-industrial chromogenic prints (most on loan from the Indiana based John C DePrez and Lee Marks collection) are crisply real, gritty, and ripe with a forlorn mood, but still so beautiful. “Shipbreaking #49” features an abandoned and well worn steel rig the color of fire in the ocean with two ships on either side heraldic and distant. He’s captured a warm, hazy horizon line of gloomy grey that fades into a pink and then to yellow in the sky.” His work is truly stunning.

Artist Trading Card Exhibit/Exchange Event - Indianapolis Artsgarden – Feb. 2, 2005 – 3 1/2 stars

I made 14 baseball card-sized mini works of art (collaged and painted abstracts created on gallery promotional postcards) to trade at this event. The ease with which I could acquire original art from artists around the globe, simply by selecting a piece of their baseball card-sized art that struck my fancy and replacing it with one of mine, was uncomplicated and democratic. The etiquette of trading was simple and very satisfying because 1) creating small works of art is quick and uninhibiting, 2) it’s being shared with artists who enjoy it and 3) one gets acquainted with other artists’ styles in this edited framework. In the end I acquired a screen-print from an artist in Australia with gold painted detail, an ink and marker abstraction from a Swiss artist and a print from the Zurich artist who started this art project (what he aptly deemed as “collaborative cultural performance”) in 1997, M. Vänçi Stirnemann. I traded for his 12,905th art card, to be precise. Knowing that my art will be sent overseas to the artists I swapped cards with is a thrill. My only disappointment was that there weren’t more people participating. Then again, this project is still getting underway in the States with local artist John Essex spearheading efforts locally. I recommend visiting www.artist-trading-cards.ch/index.htm and downloading the work of Max Hofmanner from Switzerland to see the caliber of participating international artists and find out about future opportunities to participate. Event was January 29, 2005; 317-631-3301. - Mary Lee Pappas

Giselle Trujillo - Jewish Community Center – Jan. 26, 2005 – 3 stars

This accomplished sculptress (with public commissions under her belt) presents works composed from stone and wire, but most successfully in fiberglass and concrete. She manipulates concrete skillfully, texturing her pieces with brown earth colors, both opaque and shiny, to create unique and visually deceptive work. This is done best in a figure called “Curious” that, with its unnatural leaning posture and proportions including a flat pancake head, works and looks as though its been recovered from an archaeological treasure trove. Her quality of execution, fragmented style and vision waver greatly from piece to piece. Ill proportioned horse heads and figurative works are not detailed, but rather suggested in their incompleteness and lack of detail. Sometimes the illusion works, but mostly it doesn’t - with the sculptures left someplace between a poetic interpretation of reality and a too careful hand trying to create something intentionally rough. While sculptures of fiberglass and clay are given effective faux bronze finishes, the unflattering pedestals detracted from the work itself and should be replaced with something more complimentary that elevates her work. Through January 30, 2005. 317-251-9467. – Mary Lee Pappas

Georgia O'Keeffe: Visions of the Sublime - Eitlejorg Museums of American Indians and Western Art - Jan. 26, 2005

*pictured: 'Untitled (Desert Abstraction) (Bear Lake)' by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1931. Courtesy: Museum of New Mexico, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of New Mexico Foundation, 1984.

Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of the Sublime is an exhibition of anticipated and expected beautiful works that is also part art historical survey of this iconic American artist. The range of work shown covers her career, thus allowing the audience to easily tap into her pure intentions of conveying mood and emotion, or what is referred to in the show title as sublime. The show flowed well, following the development of her aesthetic sensibility.

This is partially accomplished with quotes from O’Keeffe (1887–1986) accompanying the 30 paintings in the show. These words lend a necessary element of insight that brings her art process to light and further enriches the concept of sublime.

One such quote reads, “I found that I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn’t say in any other way, things I had no words for.”
And so her works are ultimately a sincere expression of her awe from interacting and experiencing nature, whether it was the blue color of a sky or a dry leaf.

Unlike the aesthetic conventions of 19th century artists like Turner, who created expansive landscapes reflecting a gloomier side of the sublime, O’Keeffe indulged in it in the early 20th century as emotion inspired by a thing or a place.

Examples of 19th century landscapes are shown toward the end of the exhibition space for a conceptual contrast that proved to be more visually abrupt than beneficial.

Perhaps their placement was intentional, as they followed a wall of Alfred Stieglitz’s small black and white cloud study photographs, the “Equivalents.” Steiglitz was O’Keeffe’s partner and a notable photographer who created the series of emotive moon and skyscapes based on her works. These photos were a weak link to the drama of the early landscapes. Indeed, the tail end sections of the exhibit were visually choppy and lighting was uneven everywhere.
Glare was noticeable with the “Equivalents” (crowded and stacked with the upper row too high above eye level for a comfortable view) as the emulsion even caught reflections — a reminder that the museum’s expansion is a welcomed advancement.

“Pelvis with the Distance,” a 1943 oil painting belonging to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, is an exceptional O’Keeffe work in the show featuring a weightless, sculptural, bleached pelvis bone encompassing the canvas and breaking a minimal southwest landscape in half. Though a showstopper, it shouldn’t have been placed isolated from the bulk of the show as a finale piece. Examining the smooth petal-like texture and silky blending of O’Keeffe’s paints was a chore as lighting created severe shadows for viewers of the work. Regardless, it’s a powerful work that embraces everything that set her work apart from other Modernists and/or Precisionists.

O’Keeffe innovations — softness, clean lines, enlarged studies, femininity and simplicity in flat applications of uncomplicated colors — are gracefully portrayed in a 1927 piece, “Skunk Cabbage.” Color is minimal with brown, green and yellow creating a realistic image broken down by form into a botanical abstraction of nature emotionally modified. Such paintings effectively lend poignancy to her unique visual voice whether you are an admirer of O’Keeffe or not.

“A red hill doesn’t touch everyone’s hearts as it touches mine,” another quote reads, revealing the heart of how O’Keeffe became the important American painter exemplified astutely in this show.

Georgia O’Keeffe: Visions of the Sublime continues through April 3 at the Eiteljorg Museum. For information: 636-WEST, www.eiteljorg.org.

Tania Shepard “Petals” - White River Gardens – Jan. 19, 2005 – 3 1/2 stars

No show has complimented the White River Gardens as well as this show of black and white sepia toned floral photographs. The ten-inch square, softly diffused, close up images are framed in square, brushed silver, flat frames which are similar in color to the round stone wall in the rotunda. A softness pervades without the photos getting lost against the wall or grossly clashing with the interior as is often the case with art shows in this space. Compositionally, these works are great with individual blooms (porcelain like) seen as grand inventions of nature. This twelve piece series, “Petals,” explores the flower as a metaphor for faith, hope and love (which was reflected in the titles), but the result was convoluted. Just how are these flowers are supposed to do that? The flower symbolism didn’t synch with the intended emotions though overall they were lyrical, enchanting, and what you would expect from a photographer who specializes in weddings. Visit www.studioEonline.net to learn more about this artist. Through March 13, 2005. 317-630-2001. – Mary Lee Pappas

Emily Persic Schwank – Indianapolis Art Center – Jan. 12, 2005 – 3 stars

Like one of her influences, French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, Schwank seems to connect with her subjects and some of their melancholy states while creating crisply executed images that are slightly too sentimental to be strict documentation. Helen Levitt’s images of New York street life seem poetically parallel to what Schwank captures in some of her pieces. “Galway Street Alley Belfast 2004,” for example, an RC black and white print, is perfectly composed though an unchoreographed stroke of luck. A little girl walks along a wall lined with plants and laundry hanging above, through which the sun radiates a white, not completely overexposed heat. Though not altogether a succinct series, her photographs contain elements of intrigue making many other photography offerings in the city appear a bit amateurish. There is still room for great growth and mucho potential from this artist who’s on the right road. Through Jan. 17, 2005; 317- 255-2464. – Mary Lee Pappas

Colleen Lauter – Monon Coffee Co. – Jan. 5, 2005 - 1 1/2 stars

My immediate reaction was that this artist was not just emulating or inspired by, but practically ripping off Douglas David’s fluffy peony and floral blossoms – both in composition and format. Yes, some ideas can simultaneously be realized independent of each other at opposite ends of the earth, but 10 miles from each other? Perhaps she is a friend or student. The best aspect of her uneven work is paint handling and color that gets diminished by skills that could stand sharpening for the still life scenes she is attempting to achieve. Her presentation is great, with elegant gold frames. Sometimes things should stay in the studio and some artists should refrain from prematurely exhibiting. When will local exhibitions stop being driven by sales or the desire for hasty success and be about the art and ideas? Fortunately, Lauter has the chops and drive to be much better than this anxious offering. Through January, 2005; 317-255-0510. – Mary Lee Pappas