BURNTSIENNA FIELD RESEARCH — INDIANAPOLIS (a homecoming)

File Under : Urbanism, Architecture, Culture, Cityscapes

Date of Excursion : 28 July — 3 August 2022

Documented by : Jason E.C. Wright, BRS

Category : Photo Journal

Format : iPhone 12 Pro

Ed. Note : Any visit back to one’s hometown, especially after numerous years away, is bound to be ripe with new developments, old haunts or the absence thereof, and the new realizations that come from reconciling all this, while taking in all that currently is and beyond. This narrative is one such recanting, told through snapshot images on iPhone, and anecdotes.

Monument Circle, Soldier and Sailor’s Monument, downtown Indianapolis

My first evening was spent reeling from the amount of new buildings in downtown Indy; I realized the best way to sort through it all was by throwing myself into it, immersing myself on a late night walk on familiar streets and learning what currently exists. This act of walking around helped me shift perspective from wanting to revert everything back to ‘my past’, to holding past memories like album covers up at familiar locations then accpeting what is there, now. This proved incredibly helpful, and I found a good rhythm of acceptance and joyous optimism from there.

(l to r: Coaches Tavern, an old haunt for early 90’s hip hop eery Tuesday for 12+ years (thank you DJ MetroGnome), the former city jail with a banner for civic enagement courtesy of cultural startup GANGGANG)

reminders of where my sense of awareness and thoughtfulness comes from.

The next day was a meeting with my dear friends and colleagues Alan Bacon and Malina Simone, founders of GANGGANG, for whom I had come back home to work with on a research project and viability study. We did a walk through of the historic Stutz Building, the venue for the second iteration of BUTTER, their annual fine-art fair. The most stirring moment of which was seeing the mural they commissioned on the outside wall of Indianapolis luminaries — all but one of which are still living and breathing, to receive their flowers of appreciation.

(l to r : ‘Keepers of the Culture’ mural- entrepreneur/performing artist Maxie, poet Mariah Ivey, jazz musicain Rob Dixon, actor Mike Epps, actor Vivica A. Fox, legendary radio host Amos Brown (rip), playwright/community griot Deborah Asante, magazine publisher LaDeana Brown; onsite walkthroughs at the Stutz for ‘BUTTER 2')

(side view of the Stutz Building. also, clouds. a recurring portrait theme.)

Later that evening, more golden hour walks through the northern quad of downtown as I leisurely made my way to a further transit stop, en route to another familar space — The Jazz Kitchen (where I may or may not have stepped on stage for the first time in a decade).

(top, l to r : Indiana War Memorial, older brick apartment building; bottom, l to r : Veterans Memorial obelisk, Scottish Rite Cathedral)

The Jazz Kitchen, in the Broad Ripple neighborhood

Day three gave me space to visit my big cousin Kenny Kixx at the Radio One building and catch up on the radio business, life, and community goings ons since being gone. Many stories within that space so I took a long walk up form the hotel, passing the old Brutalist government building on my way into the urban a/c station, WTLC.

(l to r : blue sky mural, Brutalist government building, inside the WTLC studio)

After wrapping his air shift, I rode with Kenny out to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to pick up his credentials for the weekend (the NASCAR Brickyard 200 was on this weekend as well). Once finished there, we headed towards the north end of Mass Ave to grab a spot of food before my arrival GANGGANG’s event that evening.

check in here.

Indianapolis | Motor | Speedway

small town water tower. international racing area.

Later in the evening got to catch up with my musical bretheren Rusty and Mr. Kinetik at the Clowes Lawn on Butler University campus. Alot of history here, in the space and amongst us. Filled my spirit with joy and fond memories.

(l to r : catching up with Russ; the emcee formerly known as alpha.live, Rusty Redenbacher, Mr. Kineitk. #ATFU)

The next day was filled with intense research sessions of reference, debate, revising, considerations, and overall unraveling to get to the true center of things. Needless to say, walking it off and letting the brain slowly reform shape was the remedy. Which, with such a strong walking practice, my flanuership rarely needs a prompt. So after departing the Broad Ripple area on the red line transit back downtown, I hopped off at Capitol and strolled past, well, the capitol building. This was another outstanding opportunity (read: excuse) for more cloud captures and colonial architecture.

Indiana state capitol building.

(middle : ‘Indiana: A State That Works’ embalzoned on the government clerical building. read into this about the midwestern trait of ‘hard work as a virtue’ as you see fit. it’s all accurate and deeply baked into culture here. also featuring : a variety of cloud formation that bring joy. balance.)

From here, my walk took me around the front of the Indiana Historical Society before descending to the Indianapolis Canal, long one of my favourite spaces of solace (and genuinely romantic, meaningful date walks) since adolescence.

Indiana Historical Society.

The Canal.

More canal meandering and cloud captures followed, coming out on the southern end of downtown (towards IUPUI university campus) to the bridge and sculpture garden over White River before depositing me to a gorgeous, green ampitheater beneath the trees on the banks of the river, right next to the NCAA Headquarters, and a stones throw from the Eiteljorg and Indiana State Musuem.

I sat here for just over an hour as I decompressed from the day, and made a promise to myself to explore the Eiteljorg in depth before leaving town.

And oh, did I ever. My journey through the museum will be detailed when we pick up for part two of my Field Research through Indianapolis.

Burntsienna Field Research is our invitation to explore art, culture, and the built environment on foot, through the lens of photogrphay. Excursions are organized as group explorations, or encouraged as solo iterations. Facilitated by Jason E.C. Wright, BRS, and various guests and friends of the institute, the excursions take place in various locales, all on various unceded indigenous lands. This particular excursion took place in Indianapolis, on the unceded ancestral lands of the Miami and Lenape peoples.