Posts Tagged ‘Fountain Square’

City360.tv Interview

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

A few days ago, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for City360.tv’s Art Beat segment. I got the chance to talk a little bit about my art process, show images of my recent work, and share with the viewers my upcoming shows in March. I haven’t done many video interviews but I think it went better than I expected. There is something about a camera being pointed at me that makes me nervous…

You can watch the interview here….City360TV – Art Beat: Nathan Monk

I just want to say thanks to everyone over at City360TV for the opportunity. Hopefully in the future, I can polish my interviewing skills.

I hope to see you out on Friday March 4 at the Wheeler Community Arts Center for a collaborative show between Tre Reising and myself, “Nathan Monk In NoSpace”. Thanks!

Set Me Free @ Studio 303

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Next Friday, I will be showing some of my work at Studio 303 (ECHOMAKER’s studio) in the Murphy Arts Center. The pieces will range from collage on different found objects to more relief-type sculptural pieces made from recycled paper. Along with my art being on display, there will be performances from the guys in ECHOMAKER plus some experimental noise fabrication from myself. It should be lots of fun and you can make a night out of it. The Murphy Arts Center is home to multiple art galleries and studios where you could easily get lost wandering the halls while checking out all the local art. Festivities start at 6pm and will go late into the night. I hope to see you there!

Another Success at P.U.P.

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

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Detail of “The Onset of Decline”

Last night, I was lucky enough to display three new works at the P.U.P studio located inside the Murphy Building. This was my second time displaying some of my art there and once again it was a great time. This time around, I wanted to do something different than last month’s opening. I wanted to create works that conceptual related with P.U.P.’s transit initiatives.

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Detail of “Great American Streetcar Scandal: Part Two”

After reading a small fact on their website about how Indiana is ranked 43rd for mass transit ridership in the nation. I also knew from first hand experience that Indiana doesn’t have sufficient mass transit choices. After doing more research, I learned that along with Ohio, Indiana was the leader in the interurban rail system. I wanted to learn how Indiana’s public transit system came from such a different place from where we are now. So after reading more about this topic, I was inspired by the rise and fall of the interurban transit system and these works were a result of that. I want to purchase a book called “Indianapolis Railways” and continue to learn more about the history of Indiana’s rail systems.

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“The Onset of Decline”, “Great American Streetcar Scandal: Part One”, & “…Part Two”

Back to last night. Once again, I had a wonderful time. I was actually able to take my wife and son around the Murphy Building and check out some of the studio/gallery openings. We didn’t see it all unfortunately but I hope to make it a more regular event. I had some great conversations with people as always. The topics ranged from Indiana’s rail systems to the lack of accessibility of some ‘high art’ and the pretentiousness that comes along with it. It is always interesting to hear other people’s opinion about topics that I am inspired by and truly care about.

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Inside the P.U.P. Studio

I think the whole First Friday event at the Murphy Building was a success. There were a ton of people! It was IMOCA’s first night in the building and with that they drew a huge crowd. P.U.P. had an awesome night as well and sold a ton of Dome wallets, purses, messenger bags, and Dome Flakes. You should check out P.U.P.’s website to see these. They are all made out of the RCA Dome roof material which is Teflon-coated Fiberglass. They saved it from being thrown in a landfill and are now putting it to good use. Silver In The City also carries some of these. They are a great gift idea that with your money gives back to the community. 60% of the profit is donated back into Indianapolis parks which is definitely needed. Grab a one of a kind gift and a piece of history!

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Another view of the People for Urban Progress Studio

Don’t forget this Friday Dec. 11 I will be at the Artsgarden all day from 10am-9pm selling original works of art for super cheap! I am talking $20 cheap. These will be great holiday gifts for anyone. I will have a wide range of work so come on down and check it out! There will be 20+ artists booths to check out. The Artsgarden is connected to Circle Center Mall so it is easily accessible as well.

Then Saturday night Dec. 12, I will have some of my work hanging at the Indy Hostel during the “Both Sides of the Beat” hiphop/spoken word show. It should be a blast! I hope to see you there.

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Who’s that guy? Oh yea, I’m wearing a name tag….

Busy, Busy, and Jam Vs Jelly

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

I know it has been almost a week since I have done a blog post. I have been super busy lately and with Thanksgiving thrown in the mix, it has been interesting. I currently working on:

1. a 12 panel cd insert for a friend

2. Creating work for the Holiday Sale

3. Creating work for the “Both Sides of the Beat” show

4. Framing up a 4 ft. x 5 ft. painting I did recently

5. Photographing ALL of the work I have done recently and get it on the site

6. Much more….

If you would have asked me a little over 6 months ago if I would be this busy I would have said No. Don’t get me wrong, when I say busy that is a good thing. It is a great thing! I have never been this motivated before and had this much on my plate. I have met so many amazing individuals through the process and I know it is only just getting started. My art is getting out in the world to other people and that is what makes me most happy.

Speaking of the Holiday Art Sale, here is an example of the size work I will have for sale. This is roughly 5″ x 5″. There are two more just like this that together create a three piece series. For more information on the Holiday Art Sale you can visit HERE and HERE. It is on Friday December 11 from 10am – 9pm. Mark your calendars! There will be over 20+ artists there!

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There is more great news. Recently I contacted Scott from JamVsJelly about possibly getting my work on his site. JamVsJelly is a “comprehensive, content rich and multi-discipline online arts publication. With its focus primarily focusing on fine art, photography, design and short stories.” Not only did he respond back saying he would like to have a feature article on me and my work but also be a contributor to the website representing Indianapolis. I cannot tell you how excited and honored I am to have this chance to reach such a vast audience. The possibilities are endless and JamVsJelly is only going to get bigger.

Scott has been working all day and night to get the site ready for launch. He received over 1,500 submissions of artwork/short stories last week. He had to sort through it all and get everything organized. Make sure you bookmark JamVsJelly and become a fan on Facebook.

Be sure to keep checking back to JamVsJelly. Once we are up and running, there will be new artists and material rotating through the site frequently. Check it out! Tell your friends!

Here is a logo I drew up last night for the site. It was my first attempt at using my tentacles as letters to create words. It was definitely a lot different than what I am used to as far as process goes. It is spray paint, acrylic, marker, and ink on watercolor paper.

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Don’t forget to mark your calendars!!!

Friday December 4 (7pm – 10pm) First Friday at P.U.P. Studio 213. Murphy Building. Fountain Square. Indianapolis, IN.

Friday December 11 (10am – 9pm) Holiday Art Sale at the Artsgarden. Downtown Indianapolis. Connected to Circle Center Mall.

Saturday December 12 (6pm-10pm) “Both Side of the Beat” HipHop/SpokenWord/ArtShow at Indy Hostel. Broad Ripple. Indianapolis, IN.

Friday February 5 – First Friday event at Bootleg Exhibitions. The theme of the show will be “play”.

Without you guys, a lot of this couldn’t be possible. So keep supporting art, keep supporting local art, and come out to have a good time! Thanks again to everyone! I am a lucky guy.

Mass Transit Works

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

I have been lucky enough to be a part of December’s First Friday event at the P.U.P. Studio. For those of you that came out on November’s First Friday event, I want to say thanks once again. It was a great experience and only you guys showing up makes it worth it all. Maryanne and Michael are doing great things to make Indianapolis a better place so come out and show them some love! They have t-shirts, Dome Flakes, Dome Bags, and other goodies for sale so help support one of Indy’s great non-profits by purchasing something. Also, tell your friends! Word of mouth makes a bigger impact than you think. You can learn more about People for Urban Progress HERE!

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A WIP (work in progress) shot of 2 of the 3 new pieces

I will be creating three new works for December’s FF event. They were inspired from a small paragraph I read on P.U.P.’s website actually. I was reading up on what they were doing about the transit initiatives and was kind of blown away by a statistic. From there I did some more research on some other sites. You should check out the site to see what I mean. It involves the past successes of Indiana’s mass transit rail system and the state’s current lack of sufficient public mass transit system. Indianapolis is a great city and it could be taken advantage of and appreciated more if the city was more easily accessible, not just by car. I know we have IndyGo and Amtrak but those are very limited as far as routes especially to and from the suburbs. We can do better than that.

After digesting this information and pondering about it, I got to creating. The works will not be a story board or a time line of Indiana’s rail system history. It is definitely a more abstract approach to the idea and the work. And with subtle representational images, I hope to bring the viewer in and possibly start an internal dialogue about transit solutions in Indianapolis. I don’t want the works to be exclusive but I also don’t want them to seem like a Jr. High poster board assignment either. I think I will stick to my witty titles to help bridge that gap and get the conversation started.

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A WIP (work in progress) shot of 2 of the 3 new pieces

One of the works is on a reused canvas mounted in an old frame. The other two are on wood which will be mounted in older found frames as well.

You can see these three new works on Friday Dec. 4 at the P.U.P. Studio (Studio 213) which is located in the Murphy Building, Fountain Square. The studio will have it’s door open from 7-10pm. I hope to see you out there and we can talk more about trains because trains are awesome.

First Friday @ P.U.P

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

First off, I just want to say I had a great night at the Murphy Building for November’s First Friday event. There were a lot of people, great conversations, talented musicians, and don’t forget the delicious wine.

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Visitors viewing my artwork

I also want to say thanks to Maryanne O’Malley and Michael Bricker (founders of People for Urban Progress) for giving me the wonderful opportunity to show my work in their studio. It is a really great space that has a lot going on. They had information about their transit initiatives, Dome Bag Project gear over on the other wall, P.U.P. T-shirts, Domeflakes, and more!

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Some of the laser cut Dome Flakes

I was really pleased with the way my artwork fit into their space as well. They brought in a lot of traffic and at times there were crowds of people gathered to check out my work. I met a lot of friendly and interesting individuals whom I had some really nice conversations with. I really enjoy being able to mingle and interact with the viewer’s of my work. It is always interesting to hear there thoughts and questions.

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The table of treats for the visitors

My artwork wasn’t the only reason people were headed to the studio. Like I said, P.U.P. had so much to offer. I was able to purchase a clutch purse for my wife and a matching bi-fold wallet for myself. These were from their Dome Bag Project where they fabricate functional accessories out of the Teflon coated Fiberglass material that the RCA Dome roof covering was made out of. It is such a wonderful idea that saved an enormous amount of perfectly good material from being tossed in a landfill. You can pick up bi-fold or tri-fold wallets, clutch purses with or without the shoulder strap, and messenger bags from Silver In the City on Mass. Ave or contact them at info@peopleup.org for more information about how you can own a piece of history.

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My wife’s new purse and my new wallet!

I just want to say thanks again to everyone who came out to see my work and check out the P.U.P. studio. Thanks again to Maryanne and Michael. Please check out their website to see what they are all about.

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Collage Party!

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Last night, I attended a Collage Party at Big Car Gallery in the Murphy Building located in Fountain Square. Everyone was invited to bring their materials (scissors, glue, clippings, etc.) and have fun creating collage art together. Music, drinks, and food were provided. It was a great, fun environment and plenty of people turned out for the event.

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As we finished our creations, we were allowed to display them on the gallery walls for next Friday’s show. The Collage Party show opens Friday, Sept. 4, 6-11 p.m. as part of IDADA’s First Friday event. My crazy collages can be seen here.

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It was a great opportunity to create fun art while meeting new people and witnessing other people’s creations. I saw some pretty hilarious pieces done by some other artists as well. I didn’t get shots of them but I definitely encourage you to stop by Big Car this Friday so you can see all of the collages in person. Check out Big Car’s website here for more info and see what they are all about.

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