Beyond the Blues: Refocusing the Rainbow

With the start of summer swiftly approaching, the Indianapolis Arts Center has concluded their spring showings, cementing the end of the season.  The exhibits were expertly curated, comprised of a collection of clay pieces made within the center’s own studio, sculptural display by Jennifer Crupi who has work in the possession of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Biannual ArtReach Exhibition, and a group show of contemporary wearable art. Though these featured the works of both budding minds and experienced artisans, the most striking collection within the galleries was certainly that of Michigan-based artist, Warner Ball’s, first solo show, “Visions of Softness: Embracing Queer Domesticity.” With Ball’s pieces hoping to “recontextualize queerness as something totally intertwined with domesticity,” they all put forth certain scenes and images which Ball believes to encapsulate both terms, including but not limited to, vases with harnesses on, a pile of laundry, pills coated in golden liquid leaf and cyanotypes depicting everything from condoms to lovers embracing. Furthermore, Ball’s art is reactive in its nature, as he notes that “[q]ueer art has historically been a vehicle to express trauma or depict visceral imagery as an act of rebellion against public sensibilities,” with his art seeking a...