This is a nice mural depicting an older native American woman and a young child with a quilt with…read morethe word "Mihtohseenionki" written on it. It is very colorful and was commissioned by the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, in conjunction with Christel House Academy. It was painted in 2007, by Will Wilson with assistance from students from the Christel House Academy . It is on the side of some large 2 bay garage on the Old Southside. The primary goals of the mural were beautification and cultivating artistic stewardship among the students. The mural almost looks like a picture, which makes sense since Wilson is a photographer by trade, who spent his best years living with the Navajo Nation. If you were wondering, Mihtohseenionki means "the people's place" in the Miami language. It is a very colorful mural and caught my eye as I have driven by it a few times. Sadly, the mural has been a victim of vandalism. Someone painted a "A+2" on the older woman's arm. It is not too noticeable, but you can see it if you really look. As with most murals, this is a very brief stop. There is some street parking available and you can also pull into the lot of the building that the mural is on too. From there 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. 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.

This mural was one that caught my attention the first time I drove by it in 2009. The Eiteljorg…read moreMuseum of American Indians and Western Art had an exhibit and through a series of discussions and collaborations, helped bring about this mural with the name of the exhibit to the Old Southside. Artist & photographer Will Wilson worked with local students to add this colorful mural to the north wall of a building next to a mini park on the corner. The mural shows a seated elder adult facing a youth with a tapestry of fabric around them. To the right of the elder is a cluster of flowers. Over the space between the people is written Mihtohseenionki - They call this "the People's Place". To support the message, the once bare lot now has a small garden and a welcome sign in the corner of what is now mostly a greenspace. Review #1709

It's difficult for me to give a mural anything less than five stars because murals in general are…read moregreat. This one, dedicated to an Indianapolis photographer named Mpozi Tolbert, is good. There's the big black-and-white image of Mpozi, which I thought was the whole mural. But there are also some other elements beside it (metal art) and another mural of a dandelion that might also be a part of this one? I'm not sure. Either way, more art is more better, in my opinion. This mural is located in Fountain Square, on the side of the Murphy Arts Center.

Mpozi bridge collection is a public art mural located in a trendy Indianapolis neighborhood that is…read morea profile picture essentially of a person and sits at a busy intersection next to another public art piece called "weeds". 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. We stumbled upon Mpozi a few times on our trip. They had another larger and more impressive mural in the broad ripple neighborhood. We discovered this piece while leaving our dining experience at blue beards. If I'm being honest the weeds mural next to it drew our attention as it's contrasting colors grabs your eyes more. Overall cool dedication and piece to someone who obviously holds significant meaning to the Indianapolis area. The whole 1-2 block radius has some cool pieces to discover if you are a fan of public art.

This is another mural that was created during a Day of Service. This was part of Marian…read moreUniversity's teen Day of Service in 2017. It is located on the backside of Lincoln Center, a faith based community center and gathering place. This mural was painted by Marion University teens volunteers and "at risk" youth from the surrounding neighborhood, none of whom had any formal art training. Volunteers traced each others' silhouettes, and then filled in the background, like it was a large paint by numbers wall. The mural was designed by Bethany Friesen, the assistant director of the Lincoln Center. It is not the best mural by far, but I love the story behind it. It is a simple, abstract design. It is meant to represent the uniqueness and creativity of the Lincoln Center and Bates Hendricks community. It depicts black silhouettes upon a background of random figures including a butterfly, a Batman symbol, a rainbow, a sun, and colorful geometric shapes. It works for me because of the piece's back story. This was a nice community project and I wish there were more like it. 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.

On the west side of the Lincoln Center in Bates Hendricks, a mural was painted on the 2017 Marian…read moreUniversity's teen day of service. The art was designed by artist Bethany Friesen who planned a predetermined pattern on the right side of the mural and left the background on the left to be designed by the teens. Neighborhood teens traced the images of each other on the wall and then painted them in black to appear as silhouettes. The art is meant to represent that each of us is valued, regardless of age, race, or status. Review #1894

As someone who works at Indiana's Statehouse, I go by quite a few historical landmarks on a regular…read morebasis. For some reason, Oliver Morton Plaza really struck me today and I decided to stop, take a look, take a photo, and explore its history a bit. Made of bronze and concrete, this plaza was created in 1907 and is part of the Indiana Statehouse Collection. It was created by Austrian artist Rudolph Schwarz and can be found on the east side of the Statehouse right at the intersection of West Market and North Capitol. It includes three bronze statues, two bronze reliefs, one plaque on the front, and two rear plaques. The pedestals are made of granite. It was commissioned by the Indiana General Assembly. Morton is positioned in the center flanked by two Union soldiers. Morton was the first native Hoosier to serve as Indiana's governor. He was born in Wayne County and lived from 1823-1877. He was governor during the Civil War and just beyond (1861-1867). He was a U.S. Senator from 1867 until his death in 1877. He was considered the "Great War Governor of Indiana." The original budget included $9,000 for the bronze figures and tablets, $7,483 for Barre granite, $10,150 for Westerly Granite, and a $935 increase was eventually granted to expand the pedestals. Additional components ended up adding another $7,500 along with $500 each for the bronze reliefs. Morton was a Republican and staunch ally of Abraham Lincoln. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery. There is a second statue of Morton by the Soldiers and Sailor's Monument.

This Plaza has a lot of different things in it most notably, the Oliver Morton statue. They are all…read morein there together with a few other statues, and just an overall Plaza around the building. You can eat your lunch take a nap. Do whatever you want in this Plaza, just be nice and courteous and pick up your mess.

This mural is an abstract piece that seems to have its best years way behind it. It is located…read moreacross from the City/County building and is painted on a parking garage that overlooks a commercial parking lot. It was painted by Roland Hobart, with assistance from Naegele Outdoor Advertising, in 1973 as part of the Indianapolis Urban Walls Project and was founded by American Fletcher National Bank. It was the first installment of the project. I would call it old, but we are close to the same age, so I will just call it a mural with seniority. The mural was also originally on two walls. The white wall perpendicular to where the mural is now was part of the mural in 1973, but severe deterioration forced it to be repainted and all they could come up with was white. The mural has been receiving increasing calls for restoration and people are starting the raise funds. The walls being located on private businesses with different landlords presents a little bit of an obstacle because they have to have them agree to have their walls painted. It is a simple piece that consists of geometric shapes, Consisting of mostly red, yellow, and orange circles, pie shaped wedges and triangles. I believe the mural has not been painted or maintenanced since it was originally painted. It is severely faded, peeling and chipped, but I guess considering that it is almost 50 years old it almost has some historical significance. It is old school. I think the mural has more value as a historical piece than the actual art work. Anyway, there is a lot of metered street parking available near the mural, so you can park, get out and take a closer look. There are also a few garages within a reasonable walking distance too. You could also get a decent look from the windshield of your car doing a strategic slow-rolling drive by. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is 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 downtown attractions.

Having spent more than 40 years in the metro area, I am continuously amazed at how the downtown…read morearea has transformed from the well earned "Naptown" label into a destination. And for as much as sports, construction, and the canal have done for the area, I believe that public art has to be considered as another great success. Think about it: Colorless limestone building with no imaginative decoration filled the area (with just a few exceptions). But in 1973, the City took a chance and created an "Urban Wall" Project that set things rolling. Back in '73, the original mural selected for the project was a Shelbyville artist named Roland Hobart who oversaw the installation of a two-wall mural. The colors were vibrant! The impact was amazing! Indianapolis with a multi-story mural? And an abstract at that? Really? It got people around here to think about art beyond what was in the IMA. It got people to remember that there were older pieces of art around town that should be maintained. But sadly, when murals are painted on private property, it is difficult to control the maintenance of the piece. Heavy water damage on the south facing wall led to a decision to whitewash the entire half of the mural. It was assumed that the empty lot would eventually be built on and so, go ahead and paint over it. Sad. And what is left of the east facing wall is faded and has damage to it as well. It is just a shadow of itself today of what it once was. The good news is that there is movement towards restoring the mural to its vibrant origins. Now that the near east side of downtown is finally getting some development with the Cummins Building and others, maybe someone will generously contribute to the project to restore this landmark piece. For more information about the history of the wall, check out the Arts Council of Indianapolis website for an excellent write-up. (see website on the business page of this review.) Review #1323

This mural is located directly across from Lincoln Park. It is the work of local artist and owner…read moreof Hue Murals & Studios, Koda Witsken, who completed the work in 2019. It is touted as Zionsville's first-ever downtown mural. It was commissioned by the Town of Zionsville in conjunction with the Zionsville Cultural District. All of the paint and painting supplies were donated by Sherwin-Williams. This mural was chosen to honor Lincoln Park, which it overlooks and its significance to the community while providing an obvious visual impact for all to enjoy." It is in Witsken signature "color vomit" style and covers 266-square feet. It is Witsken's hope that the mural reminds people to come together while honoring Zionsville's history. The park across the street from the piece is rumored to be where President Lincoln actually stopped on his train route when he was giving addresses on his way to his inauguration in 1861. The mural depicts a portrait of President's Lincoln's face in a colorful/pop style with "Zionsville" across the bottom. It is all against a white background. This is a very eye catching mural and I like it a lot. It is visually appealing, artistically awesome and in excellent shape. Visiting this mural should be on the top of any public art hunter's list. Parking to get a closer look at this mural is relatively easy. There is free street parking within a reasonable walking distance from the mural. As with most murals that I have visited and reviewed, this is 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. You could start with Lincoln Park which is right across the street or the nearby Lion Park.

One of the first installations of public art by the town of Zionsville is this very cool mural of…read moreAbraham Lincoln's face. It was designed and painted by local artist Koda Witsken who has a studio in Indy. She was selected to add her mural in May 2019 to the back of a building that stands at the intersection of Oak and 1st. The choice to create this abstract of color to present Lincoln has a connection to the location. The small park across the street was the former site of the local depot. That is the spot where Lincoln stopped in 1861 to speak to the folks of Zionsville while on his way from Illinois to Washington for his inauguration. The park has also been named after Lincoln. I really like the brightly colored shapes that are not blended yet fit together nicely like a jigsaw puzzle. The different colors provide the contours of his face while the negative space is left white. But even though there are unfinished/uncolorized portions of the painting, it is easy to identify the image. The portrait has a large cursive writing of Zionsville beneath the image. The color of the shirt also has A Lincoln painted as if it was his signature. Great selection to get the local art scene of Zionsville moving! Review #2643

Back in 1993, a mural was painted by artist Carol Tharp-Perrin on the south wall of the Douglass…read morePark community center. The mural depicts lawyer/civil activist Frank R Beckwith of Indianapolis. Beckwith was the first African-American to run for the Presidential nomination in one of the major political parties (Republican - He lost to Barry Goldwater who lost eventually to Lyndon Johnson.) Review #1785

This 1975 mural by Milton Glaser brightens the Minton Capehart Federal building that is located in…read moredowntown Indy. It is a very colorful abstract piece that covers pretty much the entire first level of the building. Measuring 672 feet in length, Color Fuses was one of the world's largest contiguous murals at the time it was painted. Glaser intended his piece to celebrates the interplay of color and light to make the stark, heavy building appear to float weightlessly. In an effort to accomplish this, he programmed the exterior perimeter lighting, to showcase his mural in a slow rise and fall sequence at night. It consists of 35 colorful bands of shades of blue, orange, yellow, pink and purple. The mural was restored in 2014 and digitally-controlled LED technology was added. This mural is definitely attention getting. I never really saw it at night so I guess am missing the full effect. even wit that though, I like it. It is not your normal painting on a federal building and makes it very ascetically pleasing to the eyes. I really like the way that it seamlessly incorporates the exterior staircase and never misses a beat. There is metered street parking across from the mural and there is also commercial parking lots nearby for you to park, get out and take 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 and had business in the Federal building that it is located. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful murals or attractions in the downtown area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

If you like color, then you will appreciate the mural that lines the first floor exterior of the…read moreMinton-Capehart Federal Building downtown. There are 35 shades of paint that line the over 600 feet of wall to transform what is another limestone construct into something more. The mural was created in 1975 by Milton Glaser and then restored in 2014. At the time of the restoration, new LED lighting was added to enhance the viewing into the night time hours. That is when the building truly transforms which makes this mural one of the Arts Council of Indianapolis' Director of Public Arts favorites to point out on her art after dark tours. The best way I can describe it is that the colors seem to make this massive building seem like it is rising into the sky as if supported by the columns of color, maybe to fly away. Very cool effect from a simple design. Great choice of location and understanding the purpose and connection of art to the location. Review #1764