Bench Around the Lake is a public artwork by Danish

Danes

Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...

 artist Jeppe Hein

Jeppe Hein

Jeppe Hein is an artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen. Hein is widely known for his production of experiential and interactive artworks that can be positioned at the junction where art, architecture, and technical inventions intersect...

, located in the 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park

100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park

100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park is a public park located behind the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The park opened in 2010, showing large site specific installation art works by Alfredo Jaar, Andrea Zittel, Atelier Van Lieshout, Kendall...

, in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The artwork consists of fifteen individually designed yellow interactive

Interactive art

Interactive art is a form of installation-based art that involves the spectator in a way that allows the art to achieve its purpose. Some installations achieve this by letting the observer or visitor "walk" in, on, and around them; Some others ask the artist to become part of the artwork.Works of...

 bench

Bench (furniture)

A bench is a piece of furniture, on which several people may sit at the same time. Benches are typically made of wood, but may also be made of metal, stone, or synthetic materials. Many benches have arm and back rests; some have no back rest and can be sat on from either side. In public areas,...

 installations strategically placed throughout the park location. Some of the benches consist of multiple components or sections within one site.

Description

The artwork consists of fifteen bright yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...

 benches of different shapes, sizes and designs made of powder coated galvanized steel. The benches are placed at specific sites, as decided by the artist, throughout the park which borders the bank of the White River

White River (Indiana)

The White River is a two-forked river that flows through central and southern Indiana and is the main tributary to the Wabash River. Via the west fork, considered to be the main stem of the river by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the White River is long.-West Fork:The West Fork, long, is...

. Hein describes the work as "one long bench that emerges from the ground and then twists, turns, and submerges again in several locations,".

Historical Information

Bench Around the Lake is a re-interpretation of Hein's Modified Social Benches which manipulate the traditional concept of a park bench. With this artwork series Hein hopes to challenge the idea of a bench being a passive object used for sitting, as well as to promote visitors to interact with the artwork in different ways and to explore more secluded or less-used areas of the park. This series of benches also coincided with Hein's May 2010 temporary installation of Distance inside the museum.

Location History

Working with IMA staff and Indianapolis-based landscape architect

Landscape architect

A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....

 Eric Fulford, Hein selected the locations for the benches which are placed throughout the 35-acre park. The benches appear along the beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es on the lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 and river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

, a gully

Gully

A gully is a landform created by running water, eroding sharply into soil, typically on a hillside. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width...

, by fallen tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s, the park's Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion and other spots throughout the park's many pathways. The artwork was fabricated in Germany and shipped to Indianapolis and installed at the IMA by their Design and Installation crew. The artwork was fully installed by the park's opening in May 2010.

Acquisition

Indianapolis Island is currently on temporary loan at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Artist

On creating the artwork Hein states: "Once you start to experience them sequentially, you'll feel that connection between them," encouraging interaction with the artworks by visitors and the appearance of tunneling the benches have within the environment. "They are a tool for communication, and create a kind of social playroom," Hein states, referring to the functional aspects of each bench. He describes one bench as the "kissing bench" due to the sliding factor the bench has, bringing together those who sit upon it regardless of their desire to be close.

Condition

Bench Around the Lake requires regular cleaning of its powder coated galvanized steel surface to discourage the buildup of potentially damaging materials. Instrumental analysis involving the artwork's color and gloss levels has also been recorded.

External links

• "100 Acres at the Indianapolis Museum of Art" from The Architects Newspaper
• Bench Around the Lake from the IMA
• Bench Around the Lake from Visualingual
• Hein talks about the creation process from ArtBabble
  ArtBabble
  ArtBabble is a cloud based video hosting service for art content and has been called the "YouTube of the arts". It was launched in April 2009 and won the 2010 "Best of the Web" award at the Museums and the Web conference...