There is art in Muncie.
With the downtown redevelopment project adding galleries on Walnut Street and the introduction of independent films to Muncie’s movie theaters, the city is obviously building up its art scene. However, Muncie has an active beacon of art appreciation with roots that date back to the late 1800s: the Ball State University Museum of Art.
The university museum is one of only four art houses in all of Indiana with such a well-rounded collection, including everything from medieval paintings to Indian sculpture to original Hoosier pieces to African tribal masks and more — a collection totalling $40 million.
Yet, the most that the majority of students will get out of this impressive collection is one guided trip with their classes, probably as freshmen. In other words, the art and culture available to students right on campus is largely ignored year after year.
As museum director Peter Blume says, during certain times of year, “you could shoot a canon through the place, and no one would notice.”
Partly, that lies on the shoulders of the museum for falling a little short on effective advertising for its interesting temporary exhibitions — like the current Art in the ‘Toon Age display that includes some of the most intriguing uses of color and space of any of the museum’s exhibits. This exhibition ignites the imagination and begs unexpected questions by presenting complex ideas in forms that resemble children’s cartoons — all nestled right between velvety paintings from the 1800s and 1900s. But the rest of the problem lies with students simply not appreciating the resources the museum offers.
Blume says exhibits like Art in the ‘Toon Age are brought to the museum in part to engage students — who might not have grown up doing museum visits on a regular basis — with content and expressions that relate to their lives and their world.
With contemporary exhibits like this one, the art museum can engage Ball State students — if they just take the time to ‘toon in.
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