Next Thursday, June 5, at 6:00 pm, you can come to the IMA and catch a documentary called Helvetica. Yep�??it�??s a whole 80 minutes of font porn. Director Gary Hustwit premiered the documentary on the fiftieth anniversary of the ubiquitous typeface, prevalent in urban centers everywhere for its clean, communicative ease. Think of the �??el�?? signs in Chicago.

My husband couldn�??t believe there was a whole film about one font. What�??s the plot, he asked, an epic smackdown between Helvetica and Times New Roman, while crazy Comic Sans plots to sabotage them all? Sort of, I replied. Fonts are dramatic. They harbor visual memories (the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup font is childhood itself), deftly evoke history (from 1930s Art Deco to the Wild West), and keep social systems flowing (imagine a green highway sign in Freestyle Script�?�there would be wrecks galore).

Thursday night�??s film screening is presented in collaboration with the IMA Design Arts Society and the AIGA Indy (local chapter of the American Institute for Graphic Arts) �?? two groups working to raise the design bar in our city.

Helvetica is part of a Design Film Series at IMA that continues June 12�??with a selection of short films from the Ray & Charles Eames industrial design empire. Grandson Eames Demetrios will fly by to introduce the films. Then on June 19, come see a film about Sir John Soane, a 19th century English architect who influenced 20th century architecture whizzes such as Philip Johnson and Michael Graves.

All films start at 6:00 in DeBoest Lecture Hall and are free. See you there. But meanwhile, feed the font beast and leave me a comment about your psychological adventures with typeface.

It all started at an early age. As a young girl growing up in Southwestern Indiana, my Aunt Donna was far and away the most fashionable person I knew. She owned a few designer handbags, quite a few pairs of Ferragamo shoes, and an extensive jewelry collection. Always an impeccable dresser, she was the height of fashion in my young world.

20 years later, my passion for fashion has expanded significantly, but my Aunt is still at the heart of it all. I have inherited her shoes, her handbags, some of her jewelry, and most importantly, her appreciation for all things chic. I work hard at emulating her style. I�??m not going to lie�?�I subscribe to 5 different fashion magazines. I also do my fair share of internet reading. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Web sites and blogs dedicated to fashion and I probably read about half of them.

Until recently I felt guilty about my style addiction. I only read www.style.com behind closed doors, because I felt it was frivolous and indulgent. However, with the opening of the IMA�??s latest exhibition, Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the tutorial of the IMA�??s curator of textile and fashion arts, Niloo Paydar, I have learned that my love for fashion is another variation of my passion for art. PHEW!�?�I�??m not nearly as shallow and superficial as I thought I was!

With all of this said, let me tell you why I�??m so unbelievably, uncontrollably excited today: A fashion icon is coming to the IMA to speak. In case you don�??t know yet, The Sartorialist (a.k.a. Scott Schuman) will be speaking TONIGHT in DeBoest Lecture Hall at 7:00 pm. Schuman is a journalist who is most famous for his blog on which he features images of stylish people on the streets of cities all over the world. The diversity of the images�??colorful street fashion in India to haute couture in Paris�??reveals that style is more than just a label; it is also a personal expression. The success of The Sartorlialist blog has gained Schuman a great deal of accolades and attention. He was recently named by Time magazine as one of the fashion world�??s 100 most influential people.

While, I wasn�??t on that list (maybe next year), Schuman and I still have a lot in common. We blog. We love photography. We love to travel. We love fashion. And perhaps most astounding of all, Schuman is also a native Hoosier. I’m pretty sure we’re destined to be best friends. I have grand notions that we will spend hours after the lecture tonight discussing fashion, our influences, and our childhoods in Indiana. I’ve got a few really good stories about my aunt to tell him. However, if for any reason Schuman doesn’t want to be my best friend for the day (I can’t imagine!), I have a backup plan. I’ll be packing a Sharpie and a few of my favorite Vogues from over the years for him to autograph. It’s not nearly as fun, but I think this plan is a bit more realistic.

So, please join me tonight at 7:00 pm for Scott Schuman�??s lecture �??Street & Elite: The Sartorialist�??s World of Fashion.�?? Grab a drink at Happy Hour before hand, and afterwards, head up and see the Breaking the Mode exhibition. Stop by and say hello if you come. I�??ll be the girl in the front row with the markers and the stack of magazines!

In the gallery, the finished work is shown alongside an 8�?? x 4�?? graphic panel that depicts the 113 steps developed by Lang to transform a square of paper into a realistic lobster with articulated legs and spindly antennae without making any cuts to the paper. I included the large print of the folding instructions in the design of the exhibition with the idea that it would help visitors understand how Lang coaxes such forms from the paper while adhering to the �??rules�?? of origami. The step-by-step instructions are the same as those that would appear in any of the multiple books that Lang has published, and the implication is that if you possessed sufficient origami folding experience and skill you could follow them and make a lobster of your own. I am sure that a skilled origami artist would respond to the instructions in that way, but for most of our visitors, the effect is altogether different. Seeing exactly how the lobster was made does not demystify the process. Looking at each step makes the final piece seem more astounding and improbable, not less.

One of the great things about working in a museum with a large and varied collection is the way that dialogues between works of art sometimes appear unexpectedly. If you are standing in Star Studio, near the instructions for the lobster, and you look directly across the main hall you can see Sol LeWitt�??s Wall Drawing No. 652. Thinking about the impact of displaying the instructions for the production of a work of art along with the finished piece while LeWitt�??s mural is in your peripheral vision, some conceptual links between the two artist�??s practices begin to emerge. Lang composes and diagrams the origami sculptures that he creates, and gives them titles that include an opus number, like a musical composition would. On his website, Lang describes the folding diagrams for each of these compositions as �??�?�serving the same purpose that a musical score does: it provides a guide to the performer (in origami, the folder) while allowing the performer to express his or her own personality through interpretation and variation�??. There is a parallel here with LeWitt�??s practice of providing instructions for the production of his wall drawings and accepting the idiosyncrasies of the execution of those instructions by different hands. I�??m not arguing that we should think of Robert J. Lang as a conceptual artist, but it is worth considering the ways in which some of Lang�??s instructions, like those pictured here wouldn�??t seem out of place in LeWitt�??s body of work.

Indiana is one of America’s top 10 drive-in states. There are 23 theaters currently in operation, according to DriveInMovie.com. There used to be five times that many until rising land values started shutting them down. But lately, it seems people have become tired of the pricey multiplex tickets and have decided to opt for a more affordable (and in my opinion more fun) route of heading out to experience the nostalgia of the drive-in. Tickets go for about $7 for adults and $4 for children.

With the comeback of drive-in theaters comes the idea of an indoor drive-in cinema. Check out Manhattan’s DRV-IN, at the performance venue Grand Opening, which features a movie screen hung in front of a single vintage Ford Falcon convertible. Groups of six can rent the one-car drive-in starting at $75 per screening, with a choice of films. A Carload at a Time may be in the pricey future.

The American icon lives on this summer at the IMA. Not exactly your middle of the cornfield drive-in, or the indoor “cars under the stars” walk-in cinema experience, but it captures some of the thrill of both.

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST: Kicking off the Summer Nights film series at the IMA on June 6 will be Grease (PG 1978), directed by Randal Kleiser, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Drive-in, walk-in or bike-in — I’ll see you there!

(Stay tuned to imamuseum.org for the full Summer Night’s film line-up.)

The tradition continues in 2008 with one twist. This summer we want your help in choosing the films. 3 of the 13 films screened for Summer Nights will be selected based on an audience vote.* That’s right, we’re doing this American Idol style, and we need your help…

Below are four categories of films with 5 choices each. Vote for your favorite film in each of the categories. Vote once, vote daily, vote hourly, it’s up to you. In the IMA’s version of American Idol, not only do you get to vote, but you also get to be Simon, Paula or Randy (but not William Hung). Feeling like you can diss it Simon Cowell style? Leave a response to this blog entry. Tell us what film you voted for and why. (If you need to learn more about the films listed below, I suggest visiting my favorite online film resource imdb.com.)

Oh, and to make this even more official, the polls will close at midnight eastern standard time on February 8. You’ve got 10 days to make your voice heard.

America, the choice is yours! Liffick out.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE END OF FEBRUARY. STAY TUNED!

*Licensing fees and restrictions may prohibit certain selections from being screened. However, the IMA will do all that is possible to secure and show all winning films.

Last night I was very excited to go to Herron School of Art on the campus of IUPUI to see a lecture by Allison Smith. Smith is a generous and talented artist who in the spring of 2008 will undertake a major sculpture project with students and faculty at the Herron School to be featured in the �??On Procession�?? parade and exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Almost 100 eager students and art lovers showed up for the lecture in the Basile Auditorium. Unfortunately, all of us were sent home without hearing from Smith. No one was more upset by this than the artist. She was forced to cancel the lecture because her 17″ silver Macbook was stolen from the auditorium after she set up her presentation, but before she began. It happened between 5:40 and 6:00 PM.

I’m disappointed for many reasons:
1. I didn’t get to see Allison Smith speak about her work.
2. This is an embarrassment to the students and faculty of Herron.
3. This is an embarrassment to the city of Indianapolis.

Allison Smith is a guest of our community. This was not the welcome she deserved. I hope we can begin to make it up to her by finding and returning her laptop. Recovering a stolen computer is one thing; it’s going to take a lot more to recover our reputation as a community. Luckily, Smith will be spending a lot of time with us in 2008. I know that goodness and decency will prevail in the end. Until then, on behalf of my community I offer an apology.