''Circle'' is a
public artwork
Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...
by
Sadashi Inuzuka. The artwork is located in the ARTSPARK on the grounds of the
Indianapolis Art Center
The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the White ...
(IAC) in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Description
''Circle'' consists of a granite curved circle (reminiscent of a
donut
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...
or
liferaft
A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (liferafts) are also used. In the mil ...
) with an open center filled with a
sandbox
A sandbox is a sandpit, a wide, shallow playground construction to hold sand, often made of wood or plastic.
Sandbox or Sand box may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Sandbox (band), a Canadian rock music group
* Sandbox ( ...
.
A pole comes from the center of the artwork with a metal arm with triangular teeth placed in a row on the bottom part of it. It turns around in the sand, like a
zen garden
The or Japanese rock garden, often called a zen garden, is a distinctive style of Japanese garden. It creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and us ...
, with sounds going on and off periodically.
Acquisition
The artwork was purchased with gifts from the Sheila Fortune Foundation,
Sallie Mae Fund, June McCormick,
Cinergy
Cinergy Corp. ( ) was an energy company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 1994 to 2006. Its name is a play on the words "synergy", "energy", and "Cincinnati".
History
Cinergy was created on October 24, 1994, from the merger of the C ...
and
EE Technologies
Electronic Evolution Technologies, Inc. (also referred to as EE Technologies, Inc or EET) is a multi-national electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company headquartered in Reno, Nevada. EET provides full electronic and mechanical box build a ...
.
About the artist
Sadashi Inuzuka is an artist who works in
ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
s,
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and
installation
Installation may refer to:
* Installation (computer programs)
* Installation, work of installation art
* Installation, military base
* Installation, into an office, especially a religious (Installation (Christianity) Installation is a Christian li ...
. He received his BGA at
Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Emily Carr University of Art + Design (abbreviated as ECU) is a public art university located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The university's campus is located within the Great Northern Way Campus in Strathcona. The university is a co-e ...
in 1985 and in 1987 obtained his MFA from the
Cranbrook Academy of Art
The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cr ...
. In 1995 he was a seasonal instructor at Carr while serving (1994–1996) as faculty at
University College of the Fraser Valley
The University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), formerly known as University College of the Fraser Valley and Fraser Valley College, is a Canadian public university with campuses in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Hope, British Columbia. Founde ...
. In 1996 he became associate professor at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, receiving tenure in 2001. His artwork looks at the relationship of
human society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
and the
natural world
''Natural World'' is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British televis ...
, specifically
water diversion
Interbasin transfer or transbasin diversion are (often hyphenated) terms used to describe man-made conveyance schemes which move water from one river basin where it is available, to another basin where water is less available or could be utilized ...
,
genetically modified crops
Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...
and
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
. He has received five awards and grants and participates in international panels and lectures.
In 2003 the Indianapolis Art Center hosted an exhibit of Inuzuka's work titled "Water Trade".
Another exhibit titled "Mutation and Adaptation" is also noted for being hosted by the IAC in July–August 2003 which featured installations of Inuzuka's ceramics and metal castings.
He has also exhibited work at
Indiana University Kokomo
Indiana University Kokomo (IU Kokomo or IUK) is a public university in Kokomo, Indiana. It is a regional campus of Indiana University serving north central Indiana.
History
In 1932, John and George Beauchamp opened the Kokomo Junior College ...
,
Mott Community College
Mott Community College (officially Charles Stewart Mott Community College or abbreviated MCC) is a public community college in Flint, Michigan. It is named for politician, businessman, and philanthropist Charles Stewart Mott. Its district is t ...
,
Allegheny College
he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת
, mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1)
, faculty = 193 ...
,
Salina Art Center
Salina may refer to:
Places United States
*Salina, Arizona
*Salina, Colorado
* Salina, Iowa
*Salina, Kansas
*Salina, Michigan, a former village now part of Saginaw, Michigan
*Salina, New York
*Salina, Oklahoma
* Salina, Pennsylvania
*Salina, Utah ...
,
Fort Wayne Museum of Art,
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...
,
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, among others.
Information
To create the artwork Inuzuka, who is
visually impaired
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
, worked with students of the
Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, or ISBVI, established in 1847 as the Indiana School for the Blind and also known as the Indiana Institution for the Education of the Blind, is a residential school for Indiana youth that are ...
to create ''Circle''. With the goal of providing ISBVI students with a place to gather at the
ARTSPARK, the youth contributed ideas about the design of the artwork, leading to the tactile nature and recordings in the piece, which were also created by the students.
A groundbreaking was held on June 5, 2004 at the ISBVI to celebrate the creation of what would become the Nina Mason Pulliam Sensory Path, where Inuzuka's installation would be at the end of the path. On creating the artwork Inuzuka sought to "do something with texture so the blind children could feel it".
References
External links
Indianapolis Art Center ARTSPARK Groundbreakingfrom Broad Ripple History
{{IACartworks
Indianapolis Art Center artworks
2005 sculptures