This is a mural that was painted as part of the Superbowl 46 for XLVI mural program in 2011. The…read moreartist that painted it was Damon Lamar Reed. I will be the first to admit that the mural is not in the best area and is in a rundown part of town. You will find the mural on the side of the New Fountain Lounge, which is a venue that gives local musicians the opportunity to showcase their talent and play some jazz. Once you get past that, you see a beautiful mural. It depicts a very very real looking saxophone, trumpet, microphone, and the top of a double bass. I can not stress how real it looks. The Lounge that the mural is painted on has a huge parking lot that you can park in, get out and take a closer look. It was empty when I was there. Well now to my standard mural disclaimer/PSA. As with most murals I have visited, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 5 minutes. This is not a destination stop. 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. Luckily, there are a lot of other interesting murals right across the street to get you started.

At the northwest corner of the intersection of 30th and MLK Blvd, a musical based mural pays…read moretribute to Indy's Jazz history. The piece features a saxophone, microphone, trumpet, and string bass. The mural was created by Damon Lamar Reed in 2011 as part of the SuperBowl 46 for XLVI mural program. Review #1492

This sculpture is located in the UIndy quad, right in front of the library. It is part of UIndy's…read moreSculpture Walk, sponsored by Fifth Thirds Bank. You are able to pull up a map of the 20 plus sculptures online and make a day of visiting each piece. The sculpture was commissioned by the school to celebrate its centennial and was funded by an anonymous donor. This abstract metal and glass sculpture stands 16 feet high and is the work of Beverly Stucker Precious, president of Precious Design Studios. It was made in 2002 and is a product of limestone, stainless steel, bronze, and Precious' signature dichroic glass. Precious incorporated all those materials in he piece to give it a dramatic kinetic effect. I did not see it though, but I still find this piece impressive, which is saying a lot because I am not a big abstract art fan. The piece gives you a different view as you change your perspective on it. It is hard to describe, but I will give it a shot. It is a large circular structure that is intersected at the bottom by a flat iron shape that is folded into a tent shape. The intersection is where the colorful glass formations are. This is one of the most impressive and eyecatching pieces in the UIndy collection. It is best viewed on a sunny day with the sun reflecting off the stainless steel and through the glass of the pieces. You can not miss this piece. I saw it from across the quad. There is a lot of parking available in the area by the sculpture, but most of it requires a student/staff parking pass. But that did not stop me. I found some visitors spots and was not there very long. 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. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful public art pieces in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. As I mentioned, you could download the Art Walk map that is online and make it a half a day or so.

My favorite sculpture on the UofIndy campus is Universal Continuum. This 16' sculpture features…read moregeometric shapes made from burnished metal and dichroic glass to catch the light. The piece rests on sculpted limestone. The sculpture has a large curved shape ending as a point on the east side that is bisected by an angled disk that has a large hole in the middle. There are additional curved tubes for support on the west side of the sculpture. The imbalance of the large angled disk when combined with the light gives the piece a sense of movement or impending movement. Internationally acclaimed sculptor Beverly Precious created this site specific piece for the entrance to Krannert Library in 2002. Review #1702

If you are in the Keystone at the Crossing Area, drive a couple blocks north of the mall to check…read moreout this massive art installation, Trigonum. Created in 1979 by local sculptor Don Robertson, this giant metal wedge is balanced in the center of a roundabout in front of the Phillip R Duke Assoc. building. The 10 1/2 ton sculpture is made of steel and has been allowed to take a rusty patina. The sculpture has been surrounded by a small circular flower garden to add a bit of color to the installation. This thing is bigger than my car! I still wonder how it doesn't fall over...must be some massive anchor in the ground. Review #1514

One of the signature art installations on the IUPUI campus is the Herron Arch 1 by alumni James…read moreWille Faust (2005). The piece is the first of Faust's works to be completed on a large scale. The art is about 20 feet tall and has multiple "fins" and geometric shapes. One of the coolest things is that from two sides, the installation appears to be black and white. Move around ninety degrees and it appears in full color! Each of the panels is covered with geometric shapes. Review #1638

This piece is a collection of 8 similar sculptures that are located in a green space near the White…read moreRiver State Park entrance, along Washington Street. It can be viewed from the street doing a safe and strategic, slow rolling drive-by, but you wont get a good look. It is best to park and get out to get a closer look. There is limited street parking within walking distance of the sculpture and there is the White River Park parking lot and garage that are available to park so you can get out and take a closer look. You can not see this sculpture from your vehicle. They are the creation of Quincy Owens and Luke Crawley from Owens + Crawley in 2015. You will find sculptures identical to these across the country. You will find them in Newport Beach, CA, Atlanta, GA, and UIndy. The piece is inspired by the high degree of correlation between human and chimpanzee chromosomal banding patterns. They have a totem pole type of feel to them. Each of the sculptures are made of acrylic plastic, aluminum, and wood and are 10 inches wide, 10 inches, and 7 feet tall. T. They are also internally lit and change colors to produce intense visual effects that take advantage of the physical interaction between colored light and translucent filters. It is pretty decent to visit during the day. That us when I visited. But viewing at night will give you the full effect. Rumor has it that the pieces are supposed to be accompanied by a 14-channel fixed media sound art piece composed entirely of manipulated samples of both singing and chimpanzee vocalizations.  However, I did not hear it during my visit though. It must only play at night or during certain hours. 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. So, you may want to consider planning out additional stops at many of the other wonderful sculptures in the park, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip. There are literally tons of sculptures in White River State  Park to see and there is also 3 Awesome Museums (Indiana State Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, and Eiteljorg Museum), that you can check out as well.

This is a multi-piece art installation near the entrance to the Visitors Center of the White River…read moreState Park. The original composition included seven columns with multiple color bands with lighting that comes on at night. The bands are supposed to tie to the chromosomes that are common between humans and chimpanzees. Soundtracks that play human vocalizations and chimpanzee sounds are mixed. I understand that there are genetic similarities between humans and the great apes, but I'm not sure what message the artists are trying to convey. The plaque mentions something about the differences and similarities of humans to the world of nature. I'm not sure I get that from just looking at the pieces. Maybe if I had heard the sound recordings and saw it at night I would have understood it better. Review #1663

Back in 2014, the underpass on the near east side of downtown was painted as part of the Vibrant…read moreCorridors program sponsored by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) and the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Artist David Orr painted the columns and supports like they were shades of marble. Colors of gold, green, blue, and off white were selected. The artwork looks believably real, especially from a moving vehicle. Review #1774

Choooo Chooooo, all aboard. This mural is fittingly located at Grand Junction Brewing, on a roll up…read moredoor overlooking their patio. It is the work of Jules "MuckRock" Muck. She painted the mural in 2019 while doing another residency here. The mural depicts a locomotive coming head on. To give it a 3D look, MuckRock painted some train tracks on the pavement in front of it. I like the steam effect that MuckRock uses in the mural. She really makes great murals. As with all of her murals, it has her MuckRock signature on the locomotive. You can easily park in Grand Junction's parking lot to get a closer look at this mural. As with most murals that I visit, this is not a large consumer of time, nor a destination piece. I was just there briefly. I would say about 5 minutes. I highly recommend visiting here on your way to somewhere else or making this part of a larger itinerary. Asa Bales Park is very close by or you can get a drink or bite to eat at Grand Junction .

While on a painting tour across the USA, artist Jules Muck "MuckRock" found a wealth of surfaces in…read morethe Indy area to share her talent. One of the places she was contacted to paint was on the garage door of Grand Junction Brewings brewhouse on 181st. This over-sized garage door offered plenty of space to paint Engine Number 9 coming straight at you. Especially cool is that the artist extended the train tracks off the door and onto the pavement to give it more of a 3D effect. The engine has the artist's tag "Muck Rock" just above the cow catcher on the front of the engine. I enjoy when the artist is able to tie into a theme and use her talent to complement the surrounding area. Nice railroad theme working for this business. For more murals by Muck, you can follow her on instagram or check out the Public Art Directory at IndyArtsGuide.org/public-art/. Review #2875

This mural is a piece by Micheal Jordan, no not that one, and not that one either. He painted it…read moreas part of the Arts Council of Indianapolis' 46 for XLVI mural initiative in 2011. I will be honest, the common viewer would not understand the murals meaning. Howevever, there is a placard on the mural that gives a brief explanation of what is going on. It is artistically a nice piece with good detail, but is showing signs of wear and fading. Jordan is paying homage to the Tarkington Park with symbols representing the neighborhood. The hammer, wrench, paint brush, and nut represent the neighborhood's Ace Hardware, which is also whose wall the mural is painted on. An arm holding a basketball represents Butler basketball. There are also images representing the neighborhoods literary, agricultural and musical past. It mural has the look of being a puzzle, hence the title, "The Pieces Fit". Get it? Very clever. The mural over looks an empty grass field and there is free street parking available to park, get out and take a closer look. It can also be viewed from the comfort of your windshield doing a safe and strategic slow rolling drive by. 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 in the area, or making this stop part of a larger itinerary to maximize your time and trip.

There is a mural on the south wall of the Ace Hardware near Tarkington Park. What makes the…read morecollection of images painted on the wall is that they are parts of the local community and the artist has chosen to paint the images as puzzle pieces that fit together. The images are quite varied and without knowing that they represent the neighborhood, the viewer might be confused about the reason they appear together. The mural was painted by local artist Michael Jordan in 2011 as part of the SuperBowl mural project 46 for XLVI. Review #1493