This sculpture is located right outside the main entrance to IU Saxony Hospital and was created by…read moreJeff Laramore. It is made of steel and frosted glass and has three sections that look like an orange wedge. The pieces are 20 feet tall and are set over a bubbling fountain. I visited in the winter, so the fountain was not so bubbling. It was off. As I mentioned previously, the sculpture is located at a hospital, with free parking. There are tons of spots available. So, parking and getting out to take a closer look would not be an issue. The sculpture is located in a roundabout in front of the hospital, so you could also get a good look from your vehicle as well and not even get out. The sculpture is supposed to resemble of a seed from one angle, and leaves from another, but I did not see it. I saw an orange wedge. But to each its own. At night the sections are illuminated and intended to be a glowing, reassuring beacon. During the day the sun shines through. I wish I could have seen it at night. I have seen pictures, and it looks very nice. As is the case with most public art that I review, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. It is probably best to plan out additional stops and make it part of a larger itinerary to maximize your trip.

One of my favorite artists is Jeff Laramore. He has contributed numerous pieces throughout central…read moreIndiana and it seems that everything he does is on a large scale. Whether its co-designing and installing the 92 county reliefs on the side of the Indiana State Museum, or creating vibrant installations like the Voss Model or "Gateways" in West Lafayette/Lafayette, the art is something that will attract and hold your attention. So, I wasn't surprised when I drove by the IU Saxony Hospital to see "Harmony" set at the front of the building in the parking area. The piece has three main sections that rise over 20' in steel and frosted glass wedges. The individual wedges are curved from top to bottom and have radiating rods that extend from the middle of the sculpture to the outer edges. The rods are reminiscent of veins in a leaf. When viewed directly towards the center, the narrowest point of each wedge is closest to the viewer and then widens as it reaches inward. The overall shape of the sculpture can appear like leaves or as a nut shape, depending upon your angle. And at night, the whole installation takes on a glow as the lighting changes the color from the cool daytime blue/green to the glow of a bright yellow. Review #1293

Smoking Cardinal is an Indianapolis indiana public art mural located in a trendy trendy…read moreneighborhood of shops and eateries. My family and I was in town from Lousiville on a weekend getaway while my daughter has cheer comp. Her competition was a few miles down the road at the convention center when we decided to take a post comp lounge at the popular Bluebeard and check out the public art in its surrounding area. This piece was on a small building across the road from Bluebeard and it features as the name suggests a Cardinal taking a drag of a cigarette. The artist is muck rock who while in town we seen lots of there work and we enjoyed them all. They are all bright, large and unique like this one. Overall being from Lousiville a big Lousiville cardinals fan the big Cardinal was gonna score points with me. I'm not a smoker so that part isn't personably appealing but it is a fun and interesting piece.

This mural has seen better days. It is the work of Jules Muck aka MuckRock. She painted it during…read moreher Indianapolis sabbatical in 2019. It depicts a cardinal, Indiana's state bird, smoking a cigarette and wearing a "Muck Ruck" gold chain. It located on the side of a vacant/abandoned building. I do not know what has worn down the mural more, the elements or vandalism. The mural is in very bad shape and has gray paint thrown on it and other graffiti on and around it. It is also showing signs of be beaten by the weather. It is almost unrecognizable. There is metered street parking available in font of the mural, if you would like to park, get out and take a closer look. I believe the actual name of this mural is Indiana AF, but Smoking Cardinal is a lot easier to explain to the littles. It is a shame that vandals have nothing better to do than mess with a nice mural. We just can't have nothing nice. Anyway, as with most murals I have visited, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 3 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area to maximize your time and trip. You can start with the one right across the street.

I have passed this mural 100s of times and finally decided to take a closer look. This mural was…read morecommissioned and is located on the side of the Sun King brewery/restaurant. It was painted in 2015 by renowned artist Carl Leck. It depicts about some wheat and 7 very detailed green hops on the left and a very nice image of the Indianapolis cityscape, including the Sales Force Tower, the USS Indianapolis Memorial, the canal, Regions Tower, and Bank of America Building, in the center and the orange and black Sun King logo, with a can of beer being poured into a glass, on the right. I cannot stress how detailed this mural is. The cityscape, may not be to scale or positionally accurate, but it is still amazing. You will also find another 3D Sun King logo placed on the mural. If you have not figured it out by now the mural depicts the basic components of beer: wheat, hops, and water. The only thing missing is the yeast. And if you figure out a good way to depict it then you should probably let Leck know. The mural is the backdrop of the business's patio/ outdoor waiting area and overlooks their parking lot. The detail put into this mural is astounding. I had passed it many times and never noticed it though. My attention was always focused on the bright logo. I also missed how nice Leck incorporated the fenced in A/C unit, vents, water drain, utility piping, and security camera in the mural. It is seamless and they are camouflaged very well. I really like this mural. It is definitely worthy of a visit. Parking here is easy with it being right off of a parking lot. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. FYI: The beer can pouring into the glass in the mural is Osiris, one of Sun King's best-selling beers.

This Sun King patio is one of my favorites in the city. The Hops mural amps up the energy in this…read morearea and makes this a fun destination for visitors and locals. Shout out to local artist Carl Leck for painting this stunner!

I love that Carmel has devoted a great deal of investment to bring art to the community. Most of…read morethe round-about art is interesting and fun. California artist, Brad Howe, has completed a number of works for Carmel, including this colorful piece on Rangeline Road. This modern sculpture is composed of an array of oval plastic panels wrapped in metal frames. While the sculpture is interesting, it has sustained weather damage in its 6 years. Several panels are scraped, faded, peeling or scratched. While I'm not an expert on art, it seems that an outdoor sculpture should be able to sustain the impacts of its environment, beyond 6 years. The sculpture is difficult to assess on foot, although I managed. There are no crosswalks leading to the sculpture. There is no plaque describing the piece or artist. But Carmel has done a good job of providing an on-line list of the art and artists. There is a public parking lot directly southwest of the sculpture. This piece is not one of my favorites.

This is another abstract piece by artist Brad Howe that can be found in the middle of a Carmel…read moretraffic circle. It is made of colored acrylic and steel and was constructed in 2019. It depicts 5 elongated ovals, 4 of which are identical and one is narrower than the others. It reminds me of a deformed flower. The ovals are colored green, black, white, blue and mulit-colored. The green one is on a cement base and is holding the other ones up. I am not a huge fan of abstract art. I hope I did not bias my review and look at it through an artistic lens. It is nice and well maintained and the colors do pop. It is rumored that the piece also serves as a visual barrier to help keep motorists' attention directed to the left as they enter the roundabout. I did not know that was an issue, but hey, however you want to spin it, works for me Parking here is a bit more challenging than the other roundabouts sculptures, but it is doable. There is a huge parking lot and a garage within walking distance. Street parking is very limited in this area. You could probably also get a decent look at the mural from the comfort of your vehicle, doing a safe and strategic, slow rolling drive by. Either way, as with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. Also, be very careful if you are going to get a closer look, as i previously mentioned, this is located at a busy roundabout. With that being said, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other attractions in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip such as the other sculptures at the roundabouts on the road.

This is a mice somewhat abstract mural that was commissioned by the Livery restaurant. It overlooks…read moretheir parking lot which was a bit problematic for me because the cars parked there partially blocked my view of the mural. The mural is the work of Justin Olson, the owner of Olson Paint Studios and was completed in 2016. It is huge, spanning 84 feet. The mural is in excellent shape and depicts a silhouette of cowgirl (some say its a cowboy, but it looks like a cowgirl to me) on a horse in the woods and holding a lantern. You see silhouettes other animals in the woods like a fox, a deer and a rabbit. The cool part of the cowgirl silhouette is that it is reversed and the silhouette is not filled in. It is just a bare brick outline. Further down the mural you will see a large whale that is upside down and splashing in blue waves. You will see the silhouettes of some yellow fish on that end as well. This part has another cool addition, that I initially missed. You will find a a fisherman looking down at the whale and holding a pole that has a lantern at the end of it. The really cool part is that the lantern hangs out from the wall and is 3D. I really like it. It is almost as if there are two completely separate murals just sharing the wall, the common blue background and the yellow fish silhouettes that you will find on both sides. It is interesting to note that the wall that the mural was painted was so delicate, that sandblasting the old paint was not an option and Olson had to hand paint every single brick to make it appear to be original brick colors. Talk about time consuming. I wish I could have had an unobstructed view of the mural. The parking lot that it overlooks is small and always has cars in it, even when the restaurant is not open. I was able to pull into an alley on the opposite side of the restaurant so that I could park and get out to get a closer look. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals and attractions, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

Love this mural along the Cultural Trail as it cuts through the alley. The mural is on the side of…read moreThe Livery restaurant on College, just south of Mass Ave. The exposed brick with the horse and rider is my favorite aspect. I bicycle through here regularly and enjoy the mural.

This is the signature mural of the Metal Fingers Krew (aka MFK) , a group of old-school graffiti…read morewriters that combines standard and "piece" lettering with pop-culture imagery to create clean, distinctive works of art. To be honest, it is hard for me to read or understand. The mural is a new and improved version of one that was on the same site and that it replaced. The mural has some dogs and lots of the Krew's writing. This is what you visualize when you talk about typical graffiti tagging. It is located in a back alley, so you can park and get out and take it all in at your leisure. You can also do a drive by if you so choose. As with most murals, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area to maximize your time and trip.

I guess if the 2015 mural by MFK was going to be painted over, it seems fitting that this Muncie…read moreKrew be the ones to replace the very cool space mural that was there before. In 2019, the Metal Fingers Krew returned to the block just north of the fountain in Fountain Square to paint the north wall of a building (east of Shelby). This mural is set on a deep blue background with dogs on each end and colorful tagging making up the majority of the mural. Even though I can't read the tags, I like the flow and color of the images. Rev. #49

The sculpture was designed by Dick Lutin in conjunction with the Southeast Neighborhood Development…read moreCorporation (SEND). The base was designed and the site was prepared by Eric Etchison and Smock Fansler. It is a simple design that would be much better if it was not vandalized. The sculpture is intended to pay homage to the area's past. It has displays on two of its 3 panels with content about Fountain Square's history and culture. One of the panels has been busted out and has not been repaired. All the panels have a blue neon light that comes on at night and is supposed to represent moving water. The sculpture costed about $85,000 and was funded by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission, the Southeast Umbrella Organization and the Fountain Square Merchants Association. This is a decent piece, but definitely not worthy of a special trip to see. If you happen to be in the area then so be it. There is free street parking right across the street from this sculpture. As with most murals that I have reviewed, though, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 3 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the wonderful murals in the area to maximize your time and trip.

As you head southeast on Virginia Avenue over the I-65/I-70 interstates, you may notice a three…read moresided construct on the south side of the road. "Wishful Thinking" is the name of the installation and it is a cultural welcome to the Fountain Square district. Created by artist Dick Lutin in 2005 in cooperation with SEND (Southeast Neighborhood Development Corporation), the steel and stone piece is meant to be an abstract of a spraying fountain. Each of the tree panels is covered with images of Fountain Squares' history. At night, the built-in lighting shines through the panel fronts in shades of blue. Review #1887

This mural is on the side of Henry's Coffee Bistro. It overlooks the business's parking lot. It was…read morepainted by Robert Bentley in 2012. Henry's got the inspiration to commission the mural from all the murals that popped up in the city as part of Arts Council of Indianapolis's 46 for XLVI Mural Program. The mural depicts the head of woman that has an orange tint, with rays coming from her head like the sun. That is on an abstract black and white background. I am not sure of the meaning of the mural, but it is rumored that the artist intended to express the energy of nearby Mass Ave. I don't see it though. It is a nice looking piece, but lacks context or a story for me. It is well maintained though. You can do a slow roll drive by or you could park in the business's parking lot and get out and take a closer look. I ended up parking in the loading zone on the street, of the hotel next and getting out. As with most murals I have visited, this is probably not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. You may want to consider planning out additional stops or making it part of a larger itinerary, to maximize your time and trip. There are tons of attractions in the downtown area to see.

When I first began taking photos for the Arts Council of Indianapolis, I met the person who…read morecoordinated the City's Public Art program for coffee at Henry's Coffee Bistro on East Street. On the north side of the building was a mural painted by Herron alumnus Robert Bentley in 2012. A former street artist, the artist has gone on to work with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) to paint murals and signal boxes around Indy. This mural shows the face of a woman on the left with rays of golden light shining out over a black and white background. I though of the background as a stylized image of downtown with the rays of light being a message to visitors to brighten up your city. Be a positive asset. Review #1735