Eden II

39°49′42″N 86°11′31″W / 39.82833°N 86.19194°W / 39.82833; -86.19194

Eden II is a public artwork by the Finnish artist Tea Mäkipää, located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a mixed-media installation, consisting of a derelict ship on the lake and a guardhouse and its equipment on the shore. It was commissioned in 2010 by the Indianapolis Museum of Art for its sculpture garden, known as the 100 Acres Park.

Description

Eden II consists of a ship made of steel, dock floats, concrete, paint, anchors, steel cable and various other mixed media, plus a guard house constructed with plywood and galvanized steel, containing LCD monitors, security cameras, a media player and an audio amplifier.^[1] The work combines real and fictional elements: the speakers play both local weather forecasts and dispatches from imaginary guards (whose voices were provided by IMA security staff),^[2] while the monitors display footage from the security camera trained on the viewer as well as simulated imagery from within the ship. It is intended as a commentary on global warming, with the refugees on board the ship driven out by "rising sea levels and the ecological impact of climate change".^[1]

Construction

Although the original plan was to use a pre-existing vessel, in the end Mäkipää opted to "construct a floating structure that resembles a ship"^[3] with the assistance of the local engineering company Silver Creek Engineering, Inc. A steel frame gives the ship the necessary strength to withstand waves, wind, snow and ice. A system of pontoons and weights keep it afloat and upright, and it is moored in place with weighted anchor lines.^[3] It was constructed both onsite and at the Herron School of Art & Design^[4] by Mäkipää, the Icelandic artist Halldúr Úlfarsson, Herron students, structural engineers from Silver Creek, and the IMA Design and Installation Crew.^[5] The museum's director at the time, Maxwell Anderson, has theorized that, in spite of the effort that went into constructing it, the ship will be slowly demolished by its aquatic environment, and he sees no reason to stop it: "We can imagine leaving Tea’s piece to become a shipwreck. Why not just let it do what it needs to do?"^[6]

Artist

This artwork is typical of Mäkipää in its examination of human beings and their ability to affect their environment. Much of her work is devoted to highlighting "environmental change and the role of humans in the destruction and possible preservation of the planet. ... [S]he treats humans as a unique animal species"^[5] with a unique ability to reshape the natural world.

References

^ ^a ^b "Eden II". Indianapolis Museum of Art.
^ Weinberg, Lauren (23 June 2010). "Indy 100". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Eden II". Silver Creek Engineering. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ "Eden II, Tea Mäkipää Fact Sheet" (PDF). Indianapolis Museum of Art. 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ ^a ^b 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park. Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art. 2010. ISBN 978-0-936260-88-4.
^ Sheets, Hilarie M. (9 June 2010). "100 Acres to Roam, No Restrictions". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2011.

External links

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Newfields)

Significant
artworks at the
Indianapolis
Museum of Art

African art	Face mask Senufo female ancestor figure Magbo helmet mask for Oro society Palace plaque depicting warrior Guardian figure Healing of Abiku Children
American painting and sculpture to 1945	Afternoon Tea Cliff Rock - Appledore Dorothy Hotel Lobby Hurricane Jimson Weed Morning at Grand Manan Preparing for the Matinee Red Kimono on the Roof Reflections Sunlight The Boat Builders The Flight of Europa The Love Song The Rainbow Tidying Up U.S.A. Untitled (The Birth)
Asian art	Bowl with two violet spots Cong-shaped vase Covered jar with carp design Fine Wind, Clear Morning Ksitigarbha bodhisattva Ritual wine server Shigaraki ware storage jar Vase with carved peony scrolls Vase with nine peach design
Contemporary art	Acton Courre Merlan Egyptian Barnyard LOVE painting LOVE (sculpture) The Quintet of the Silent They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) Untitled Landfield Untitled Judd Untitled Irwin
Decorative arts	Angel of the Resurrection Coffee service High chest of drawers Portland Vase Side chair
European painting and sculpture to 1945	Aristotle Battle Between Carnival and Lent Breton Women at a Wall Broek in Waterland Charing Cross Bridge Crucifix Crucifixion Enclosed Field with Peasant Entry of Christ into Jerusalem Entry of Christ into Jerusalem House in Provence Landscape near Arles Ma Jolie Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalene Man and Woman Peasant with a Wheelbarrow Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well Roman Capriccio: The Pantheon and Other Monuments Saint Luke Self-Portrait Rembrandt Still Life with a Chinese Porcelain Jar Still Life with Profile of Laval The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise The Boy The Channel of Gravelines, Petit Fort Philippe The Country Dance The Crucifixion Cranach The Fifth Plague of Egypt The Flageolet Player on the Cliff The Flight into Egypt The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist The House of the Deaf Woman and the Belfry at Eragny The Negress The Seamstress The Triumphant Entry of Constantine into Rome The Two Sisters The Valkhof at Nijmegen Triptych of the Annunciation Vorhor, the Green Wave
Art of the Americas	Haida ceremonial dance rattle
Oceanic art	Helmet mask (Tatanua)
Prints, drawings, and photographs	Blasting St. Vincent's Rock, Clifton Boreas and Oreithyia Galinthias Outwits Eileithyia by Announcing the Birth of Heracles Mother (Mutter) Moulin Rouge: La Goulue The Holy Family with the Dragonfly Young Woman in Blue
Textile and fashion arts	Moroccan wall hanging Chinese Souls #2 Eli Lilly Family Quilt Evening dress Woman's apron Sumbanese woman's ceremonial skirt

Outdoor
artworks
by location

Museum grounds	Above and Below Five Brushstrokes La Hermana del Hombre Bóveda Memories of Prague Mother and Child Numbers 1-0 Snowplow Stumbling Man Sutphin Fountain Two Figures Two Lines Oblique Down, Variation III
Oldfields	Copy of Diana of Versailles Diana with Dog Female and Male Herm Fountain Four Seasons Landon-Era Birdbath Mother and Child (Gordine) Nymph and Fawn Sundial, Boy With Spider The Three Graces Pair of Urns
100 Acres	Bench Around the Lake Eden II Free Basket Funky Bones Indianapolis Island Park of the Laments Stratum Pier Team Building (Align)
Artworks on loan	East Gate/West Gate Mega-Gem Portrait of History Sewall Memorial Torches Spaces with Iron