The Midwest is full of amazing things – tornadoes, corn, karaoke, friendly people, and plenty of great sculpture. On a recent trip to visit fellow Sculpture Parks we had the pleasure of seeing the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s 100 Acres Sculpture Park. After weathering a tornado (yes we were ushered to the basement of the beautiful IMA along with their staff) we saw projects like Andrea Zittel’s floating Indianapolis Island – a livable structure and research hub and Los Carpinteros’s Free Basket that materializes the path of a bouncing basketball.
Next we flew to Missouri to check out Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis as well as Cedarhurst Sculpture Park in Southern Illinois (only an hour from STL). We were lucky enough to see the concrete being poured for Jessica Stockholder’s new piece at Laumeier – opening in February 2011 - and visit some all-time favorites like Dan Graham’s reflective pavilion, Triangular Bridge Over Water.
St. Louis was overflowing with fantastic sculpture, including this bronze (Bird) by Welsh artist Laura Ford in the newly constructed CityGarden in downtown St. Louis – complete with a great view of the famous Arch.
Our final Midwestern stop was Grand Rapids to see the Frederik Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park. They had a truly monumental exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures that were literally everywhere – on hills, in gardens, and in sinking boats. This exhibition was in addition to the permanent collection sculptures, and one among many highlights was Jaume Plensa’s I, You, She or He 3 figures made of stainless steel letters positioned in conversation with one another.
Our takeaway from this trip (aside from the fact that “Boot-Scootin’ Boogie” makes an excellent karaoke song) – if you like sculpture, the Midwest is a great place to visit.
- Lexi Lee Sullivan and Emily Silet
