Day 7 of 7 - Installation Nation

Today was hot and I was tired. I decided to take a break and check out the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The grounds were beautiful and the building was lovely and easy to navigate. I checked out the Special Exhibit, European Design since 1980, saw a Ghada Amer body suit, some beautiful Florence Knoll furniture and best of all, I got to revisit an exhibit Adaptation that I had seen at the Smart Museum. Guy Ben-Ner, Arturo Herrera, Catherine Sullivan and Eve Sussman & The Rufus Corporation all have adapted works of classic literature, film, ballet, email and painting into video installations. Eve Sussman and the Rufus Corporation's Rape of the Sabine Women and Guy Ben-Ner's Wild Boy are my favorites. I'd love to have Sussman's video playing on my tv in a loop. After the women have been abducted they end up lounging around in a swanky mid-century home. The love triangle of the Sabine women, the Sabine men, and the Roman men is subtlety shown. There is little audible dialogue and tensions build through body language and mainly camera angles and sound. I t was nice to have the chance to revisit the exhibit.

Day 6 of 7 - Installation Nation

Here are some pics of some of the other artist who participated

Brian Priest
Derek Parker & Jason Chakravarty
lori miles
Julie Cifuentes and Brent Aldrich
Jeff Schmuki
Debbie Rosenfeld & Jonny Roller
Scott Scarboro
Jeff Martin

Day 6 of 7 - Installation Nation

Today was relatively low key. I had time to myself to walk around Indy now that the installation is completely set up. I headed out for a late breakfast then decided to go downtown to the city center and ended up in a book store for a few hours and then found a random toothbrush on the sidewalk outside. Then I walked around the ginormous Soldiers and Sailors monument in honor of the peoples who fought in wars prior to the Civil War.

Day 5 of 7 - Installation Nation

I got some finishing touches done today on my container and then grabbed a convenient bite to eat across the street at Lockerbie Pub. Beer + good burgers + Wi-Fi = a perfect spot to rest my feet.
Tonight was the first night of the Installation Nation Event. The evening seemed a bit long, but I had a lot of good conversations with visitors. Here are some shots of my space. I loved that the couple on the couch sat there for over an hour and had two friends join them in the surrounding chairs.

Day 4 of 7 - Installation Nation

Today was beautiful and productive. I've been worried about the strength of my magnets and even with all the research I did in preparation, I still ended up hot gluing a corner of the magnet to the steel wall. I always feel safe with hot glue, she never lets me down. The drawings only weigh 1.5 lbs. and I got Neodymium magnets with a 20 lb. pull force, but there are so many variables that can come into play. Several of the magnets slowly slid down the walls in areas where there had been dents and damage. After the securing of magnets, drawings and labels went up and behold! electricity! So many variables effect an installation and the supplies at hand. Again with the preparedness. I brought a dozen light bulbs, you'd think I'd have the ones I want to use, but noooooo. So tomorrow I need to pick up some higher wattage and a three-way.
Every one at Primary Colours and the artists involved have been amazing and so kind and I'm excited to see what manifests in their containers by tomorrow night.
I have to find a carpet remnant, get some more cable to rig up my last curtain and do some electrical cord hiding, other than I'm good to go!

Day 3 of 7 - Sponsors

One of Primary Colours generous donors, The Efroymson Family, has provided the Installation-Nation artists with stipends to help the installations manifest!
In addition , I am also getting support from Eastern Floral in Grand Rapids, MI. I worked for Eastern Floral for 6 years before I headed off to Grad School. They will be moving into their new digs on the west side of downtown Grand Rapids soon and are eager to build relationships and support local artists and musicians. They have generously provided me with a van for my week long journey as I haul all my furniture, art, and equipment to Indianapolis and back to Grand Rapids. I'd like to thank Eastern Floral and encourage my readers to continue to support a shop that's been part of GR's community for over 50 years!

Day 3 of 7 - Installation-Nation

I woke up to more rain last night and this morning, so I my motivation level was low. I thought I would spend the day at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, but decided to pass by the Installation-Nation site on my way. It wasn't a torrential downpour or lightning, so I decided to try to make some more progress. The only crummy part was the mud that surrounded my crate. I moved in most of the furniture, got the magnet hangers up, placed some bowls and plants, and began rigging up some light fixtures. Hopefully, tomorrow we'll have some electricity and I can start lighting the space.
I also had a nice conversation with a fellow artist Brian Priest. He filled me in on the layout of Indy and it's neighborhoods and not so surprising, we have a friend in common in St. Louis.

Day 2 of 7 - Installation-Nation

Another s..l...o..... w moving day. The divider wall erection had some snafus and didn't go up until noonish. The heat was pretty intense again today inside my crate, especially since I no longer had the cross breeze I had prior to the wall construction.I had some electrical access for awhile to plug in a fan, then the juice was cut and I was dripping buckets hanging my tension line and curtains. A storm swept in and I befriended two fellow Installation-Nation artists, Kathryn Armstrong & Jill Marie Mason, who are both getting their MFA's at Herron. We ended up at the pub across the street as the storm and lightning crept in. lightning + metal container = the last place I want to be installing my work.

Day 1 of 7 - Installation-Nation

So, the day began a bit behind schedule. The storage containers did not fully arrive on site until about 2:30 and the interiors were less than stellar. When Dane from Primary Colours went to check the containers out a couple weeks ago, they were awesome and white and shiny on the inside. The ones that arrived today are dull, rusty, and have tad of graffiti :-/ not exactly what I had envisioned for my installation. I should have been prepared for the unexpected, but I felt like everything had been covered and I had no need for concerns.


It's kind of bizarre because I am normally always prepared for the unexpected. I certainly brought enough clothing for a 2 month/three season stay. So I need to shift my perspective and think about my installation in the context of a worn storage container... the amount of times I've moved, the excessive usage of the container, and why I feel there will still be comfort in the space once my objects are introduced.


After being miserable in the 88 degree weather for the afternoon (Yes, I am one of those people who always complains about the heat or cold unless it is between 60-66 will low humidity) I was able to claim a container. Carefully cutting the vinyl to fit the corrugated side walls, I only accomplished the flooring today. Tomorrow, my divider wall should be in place and I can hang my curtains and begin to move in furniture.

Installation-Nation packing

My dear friend Cari helped me move furniture out of the house and into the van this weekend. I arrived in Indy last night and am excited to get started today. The shipping company is behind schedule with delivering the load of containers so it will be a bit longer before I can start laying some flooring.