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A beastly vision
To the studio artist, he’s an evasive, mysterious and romantic character.
To the college anthropology professor, he’s a hairy humanoid.
To at least one spontaneous member of the public — who picked up a pen and piece of paper at September’s Oranje event — he’s a well-endowed beast who regrets bein’ naked. To another, he’s actually a she (boobs included).
Few semi-supernatural subjects can capture the imagination like Bigfoot. And this possibly female, hairy, modest humanoid has set its bipedal tracks toward Indianapolis.
In the past month, Big Car gallery has invited the public at several art events — Penrod, Oranje, First Fridays — to sketch their interpretation of the legend. The 300-plus images, done in pen or pencil on 8.5-inch-by-11-inch paper, will go on display Oct. 2 at the Murphy Art Center. Works by professional artists also will be shown.
A week later, on Oct. 9, iMOCA’s Phenomenon Bigfoot and UFO exhibit goes on display.
Both galleries have been working with the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library to organize a series called “Big Curiosities: A Miniseries of Mysterious Events.” Adding some scientific credence to the series was a Sept. 30 appearance by renowned sasquatchologist Jeffrey Meldrum, an anatomy and anthropology professor at Idaho State University who visited the library to talk about his research.
Why the city’s sudden obsession with Bigfoot?
“Maybe there’s something special about this wild man who lives out in the forest who appeals to us on a certain level,” said iMOCA executive director Jeremy Efroymson. “Maybe artists have a better time about not being sure about something, about the whole nature of something being undefined.”
Three professional artists with big imaginations — Casey Roberts, Matt Kalasky and Nat Russell — each have their own visions of the legend. (And a fourth artist, Lori Miles, will show her work with UFO art, too.)
