Indy's Museum of Art and Broad Ripple

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” – Henry Ford

Yesterday I tried to keep my mind going and went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  The museum didn’t appeal to Megan and Emily, so I went solo. And I don’t know why but I always think I will have a really interesting experience and be very excited throughout my time at an art museum.  Ultimately, my mind ends up wandering off and I begin to lose interest.  Unfortunately, this was the case by the time I made it to the third floor, but all in all, it was still a good experience!

The exhibits began on the second floor with American and European art. Some of the featured artists included Georgia O’Keefe, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Seurat.  The third floor included African and Asian art, works on paper featuring J.M.W. Turner, and an exhibit of textile and fashion arts.  The fourth floor contained contemporary art. Out of all of the exhibits, the African and fashion pieces were my favorites.  The African art was neat because it’s just so completely different from art we’re used to. Many of the pieces were headdresses, totem poles, and carved elephant tusks. In the fashion section, they had some crazy pieces, including some from Coco Chanel and one made from peacock feathers! They also had a touchable display demonstrating how women’s dress shape has changed over the past three centuries.

Outside they had gardens, including a ravine garden, formal garden, and many others.  They also have both a flowering tree walk and a conifer walk! Some of the flowers that I noticed in my brief walk seemed like they were struggling because of the heat, but the museum is probably doing the best they can.  Also on the property is the Lilly House and Gardens, the former home and estate of the late Indianapolis businessman Josiah K. Lilly Jr.  A French-chateau-style mansion, the Lillly House is a national historic landmark and the centerpiece of the estate.  I actually didn’t get to explore it all due to both time restraints and the incredible heat, but maybe just maybe we’ll make it back to explore the rest of it.

Later in the evening, the ladies and I checked out Indy’s “hip” scene, Broad Ripple.  It kind of reminded me of a mix between Burlington, Vermont’s Church Street and State College, Pennsylvania’s College Ave. Only less sophisticated and more full of litter than both. L They had little cafés, local bars, little boutiques, and live music everywhere.  We ate at a Mediterranean restaurant called Canal Bistro, and everything was delicious, including my moussaka.  The only problem we had was they didn’t have room inside for seating so we had to sit on the covered and shaded porch if we wanted to eat there. Even though it was hot outside, we stayed and ate there.  Our server was really nice and told us where to go “downtown” Broad Ripple, but at the end of the night, as we were passing some live bands and live music, we feel like we made the wrong decisions. But that’s okay. Now we know where to go the next time we decide to go out. And who has karaoke on Wednesdays.

One of my biggest fears with traveling so much and so often is to not explore as much as possible. I don’t want to let any place, whether it be a big city or a small town, slip through my fingers.  Hidden gems are everywhere; you just have to discover them.

A neat sculpture of a lizard-dragon thing.

A beautiful display room

This tea exhibit reminds me of Kristi!

African art

In the words of Blanche, "Why paint a peacock?"

How dresses have changed since 1775.. thank goodness.

A modern art piece which is inspired by meteors and space-like objects. 

It was basically made out of foil paper, but interesting nonetheless!

The outside of the museum

The Lilly House

Broad Ripple

A canal runs around the town

Canal Bistro-- the restaurant where we dined

Delicious moussaka