This is a massive mural that depicts some orcas swimming off the coast of a beach.You see some…read moreunder the water and some with their fin sticking out of the water. There are some big orcas and some small ones. It was painted by Naturalist painter Wyland as part of his Whaling Wall series of murals. It is 153 foot wide and 35 foot tall. It takes u the entire wall and was the 74th of his 100 mural goal for his project. In case you were wondering he did finally achieve his goal in 2008. This mural was painted in 1997 on the side of the Indianapolis Public School's headquarters and obviously at its age, it is showing severe signs of fading and wear. It is in decent shape considering it is almost 25 years old. I wondering how long it will last. The mural overlooks a parking lot that has a gate that was up when I visited. There is also metered street parking nearby and a few spots outside of the parking lot to park, jump out real quick and take a closer look. That is what I did. I did not want to go into the lot and get stuck having to pay. Yes, I am cheap I had the pleasure of seeing Wyland's New Orleans mural and it was even more massive. I like his work. This painting is very life like and realistic. Very detailed. Wyland is awesome and very talented. This is a nice mural to check out. He did touch up his New Orleans recently, maybe he will do this one too. That would easily make it a 5 star mural. As with most murals I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 3 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 many marvelous downtown attraction that you can put together to form a nice itinerary. You can also check out the ClusterTruck mural, which is right next door as well.

One of the cooler large murals in the City is part of a series by the Wayland Foundation called…read moreOrcas Passage. The life sized images of orcas is quite unexpected in a downtown setting which is the point of the mural: To make people think about something beyond their daily routine by thinking about the world's oceans which connect to all lands around the globe. The Indy mural was the 74th of 100 murals painted by the Wayland Foundation. Ours was painted in 1997. Review #1750

This piece is located at the corner of Commercial Drive and Lantern Road. It was painted by William…read moreDenton Ray. Ray was one of 3 artists commissioned by the Fishers Arts Council and City of Fishers in 2016. It was part of the city's Community Master Art Plan. There is parking nearby the signal box. If you are having a difficult time finding it, just look for the nearest traffic light. All signal boxes, painted with murals or not, are near traffic lights. There is a small strip mall near this signal box where I parked and got out to get a closer look at the mural. You could, however, probably do a drive by and get a decent look at the mural, especially of you catch the red light. The mural is an abstract piece and is very simple. It has some abstract faces with some music notes and horns. It covers the entire box, front, sides and back and uses basically 5 colors: blue, yellow, orange, white and a little green. As is the case with most murals 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 at many of the other wonderful murals in the area, including the other signal box murals, to maximize your trip.

If you haven't been to downtown Fishers lately, you've missed a lot! As the place has evolved from…read morea town to a city, the area around 116th Street has been overhauled and new businesses are springing up. As part of that growing up, an appreciation for art has gained momentum and eight signal boxes have been turned into colorful works of art instead of drab metal boxes. In 2016, one of the signal boxes near Commercial Drive and Lantern Road was painted by popular local artist William Denton Ray. The signal box is called "Face the Music" and has a number of faces and musical references (notes and horns) in a style that is easily identifiable to fans of Ray. If you like WDR's work, you can check out another of his signal boxes at the corner of 116th and Regency Drive on the west side of downtown Fishers. Review #1723

Viewfinders is a set of three illuminated sculptures in downtown Indianapolis created by artist…read moreJason Myers and unveiled in 2026 as part of the Indiana Convention Center expansion's major public-art initiative. There isn't a formal artist statement specifically for Viewfinders, Myers is known for using transparent, skeletal forms to explore human connection, conversation, and shared presence. These themes align with these three figures standing together as if mid-discussion. Catching them in the early evening between rail was ideal. The LEDs were already active, giving the trio a quiet glow while there was still enough daylight to appreciate the fine detail in their metal work. They really do read as three people paused in conversation, and the lighting adds a subtle sense of motion, almost like you've walked up on a moment already in progress. [Review 1023 of 2026 - 229 in Indiana - 26202 overall]

This three piece sculpture set is the work of Eric Nordgulen, who created the piece in 1996. It is…read moreconstructed of aluminum and glass and welcomes you to the Mass Ave area. The sculptures have a combination of glass and fensnel lens, which are the type of lenses used for page magnification and theater lighting. It is located on a very busy pedestrian crossing island where New York Street, Delaware Street and Mass Ave meet. It has heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Rumor had it that the lenses produce an inverted image of yourself when you are close to the sculptures, making the viewer part of it. So, I had to give it a shot. And yes, I can say that it is true. It is kind of like a kaleidoscope effect. This is an eye catching piece that is a nice gateway to the area. It, along with Ann Dancing, is a staple of Mass Ave and one of the area's signature pieces This piece was MIA for a while. Sadly, the piece was hit by a car during the winter of 2020 and was severely damaged. Fortunately, Nordgulen was able to restore the sculpture back to its original glory and it was placed back in its location in the summer of 2021. So I guess Ken N's 2018 review of the piece was some type of omen or something. There is tons of metered street parking and commercial parking lots available within a reasonable walking distance of this sculpture for you to park and get out. I guess you can get a peek of it from the windshield of your vehicle doing a safe and strategic, slow rolling drive by. Anyway, as with most sculptures that I have visited and reviewed, as interesting and interactive as this one is, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. 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. There are tons of murals and sculptures concentrated in this area including, Ann Dancing, Mari Evans mural, and the Boom Baby (Reggie Miller) mural.

Since I sat at the Slippery Noodle watching the artists install this mural, I think I should give…read moremy 2 cents worth. Long overdue. I am one of those folks who know nothing about art and so I judge it by how it makes me feel. Generally I have three options, like, dislike and meh... This one falls into the like category mainly due to the colors used. I really enjoy this color scheme. It feels upbeat and reminds me of spring even so there are no flowers involved. It does brighten the underpass for sure. And every time i drive it makes me smile.

This mural is located in the underpass leading to downtown's Warehouse District, just one block…read moreaway from the Rolls-Royce corporate office and aircraft engine museum; It is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, but is still decent. The mural gets its name from the 100 Rolls Royce employees that created it. It was painted in 2018 with the aid of local mural group, Big Car Collaborative as part of their day of volunteering. The mural depicts a repetitive, yet colorful Rolls-Royce jet engine. The mural is not painted directly on the wall. It is actually, painted on 24 - 8' x 4' foot wooden panels making the 60 ' x 24' mural. They were installed on the walls in 2019. It is a very colorful mural. The colors surrounding the center axis of each engine randomly shift. Those shifts in color are suppose to evoke a sense of the circular motion of the engine. Unfortunately, I did not feel it. There is metered parking near the mural or if you wont be long, there are spots reserved for IMPD, that are right in front of the mural, that you could probably pull over and get out and take a quick look. Unfortunately, for this mural, I have seen a ton of public art and compared to the bulk of what I have seen, this one is ok, middle of the road for me. Anyway, as with most murals I have reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 3 minutes. You should consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals and attractions in the area, such as the Major Taylor Mural or John Wooden statue, to maximize your time and trip.

This is a piece of art that is located on an incline on the side of the Tube Factory Artspace, a…read moreplace where all is welcome to create some art. It is a simple one color piece painted on the building's blacktop. It was created in 2016 by a local artist that goes by the name Roadsworth. It was commissioned by Big Car Collaborative. It is a two color piece, teal and white and is an abstract design. I was not very wowed by this piece and the fact that I visited it during the fall, it was partially covered by leaves. Additionally, I had to move a goal post that some put on it out of the way to take the picture. So, it was apparent to me that this piece was not a high priority at the facility and not very well maintained. There is lots of free street parking available for you to get out and check out the mural. However, it is not a very long stop. This is a brief stop and so, it is best to plan out stops at many of the other wonderful murals in the area or at/in the Artspace.

Along a short stretch of Brookside Parkway, two collections of public art were added in 2016. One…read moreis a group of pieces inside Spades Park around 1800 Nowland Avenue. The second group is to the east along the north side of the Paramount School of Excellence at 3020 Nowland Ave. Both collections were primarily funded by Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW). The collections were led by artist Eric Nordgulen and include other professional artists, Herron School of Art students, and local residents to collaborate highlighting Pogue's Run waterway. The collection of Spades installations include: A History of Magic in the Midwest - Bobby Gilbreath Grid Currents - Kevin Bielicki Stone Lantern - Greg Hull Watermark - Eric Nordgulen There are some other unidentified pieces that may have been at the park before 2016. At the Paramount location on the south side of Brookside Parkway, the following installations can be seen: Blocks - Eric Nordgulen History and Preservation - Tommy Reddicks (not necessarily part of the ROW project) Indy Curves - R A Buys (look in the trees for this suspended installation) Stone Lantern - Greg Hull (a companion to the Spades Park piece) TURN - Doug Calisch Watermark - Eric Nordgulen (a companion to the Spades Park piece) Parking is available along Spades Park for viewing those pieces. To view the Paramount School pieces, I suggest parking at the school and walking along the alley on the east end of the school to Brookside Parkway. Review #1330

These cool brick head sculptures are showing up around Indiana, so am finally getting the scoop…read more The giant head sculptures are the work of American artist, James Tyler. According to the plaque, Tyler is an Indianapolis native, who now works in New York. The sculptures are made of terra cotta and treated with metals to give unique a patina on the surface. The head on Mass Ave (outside Bru Burger) is entitled "Brickhead 3". According to a nearby plaque, the sculpture is supposed to have an audio feature that is activated by nearby movement. Unfortunately, I did not notice an audio feature during my walk around the sculpture. Perhaps, the feature is turned off during the winter? Brickhead 3 was made in 2004 and placed permanently on Mass Ave. I love that an Indy artist is featured locally. The head is whimsical and seems blend in with nature. The surrounding green space could use a cleanup. There is metered street parking nearby (if you are lucky). Worth a visit if you like art.

Brickhead 3 sits in the center of Bill Gray Plaza, a small pocket of space directly across from Ann…read moreDancing and it fills it with an unmistakable blocky geometry. The Brickhead series is all about the human head as a recurring theme, pulling from imagery tied to past cultures and ancient civilizations. This one adds a 21st-century twist with a sound component meant to echo a "calculating mind," mixing permanent thought patterns with fleeting ones. I missed hearing that in the street noise but I did get here in the very last light of the evening and it made the bricks pop with a warm contrast that really brought the form to life. It's easy to overlook this plaza when Ann Dancing is pulling the crowd, but Brickhead 3 rewards the detour. The scale, the texture, and the way the piece blends the form with modern sound makes it a surprisingly engaging stop on an Indianapolis art walk. [Review 1035 of 2026 - 239 in Indiana - 26214 overall]

If you have wandered around Indy, particularly around Fountain Square and Broad Ripple, you may…read morehave seen some murals by Joy Hernandez ( or Joy the Stampede) on businesses and even some residences. Her work has an exactness of stencil work as she often selects astronauts and space themes for her work. For these two murals which decorate the sides of the same small building beyond the parking lot behind Union Jack Pub she collaborated with another local artist Matthew Aaron (matthewaaron on social media). The east wall of the building (Pale Blue Dot) is mostly the blackness of space but it also has colorful orbs that somewhat represent our solar system and then there are additional blue spheres in the background that I'm not sure what they represent but I'm guessing they are for worlds as yet undiscovered. As the orbs move around the corner to the north wall (Sounds of Small Creatures), they switch from blue to orange like suns. The majority of the space is the depiction of an astronaut working with some equipment possibly listening to see if there is anybody out there.The east wall depicts another black wall with pale blue dots, but with giant radar for picking up the transmissions from the other worlds. It's a fun piece with lots of color. You can enjoy it for its imagery, but you can also spend some time contemplating what lies beyond. What would first contact mean? I like when I can see art that pleases me, but also makes me think. Review #3857

Cool and brightly colored public art mural that sits on a exterior garage near and alley of popular…read morebroad ripple community in Indianapolis Indiana My family and I noticed this space themed and futuristic milking mural whole discovering the broad ripple area for all of its wonderful public art. We were in town from louisville for my daughters cheer comp and just had dinner at a nearby by broad ripple establishment and decided to go exploring. Overall, like an h of broad ripples public service Thai was bright, colorful and fun to check one. Good piece in a great area for public art fans.