Grad student paves the way
Kathryn Armstrong gave highway drivers something colorful to use as an artistic landmark.
Armstrong’s piece, “going home,” displays 34 brightly colored forms at the I-70/Holt Road Exit in Indianapolis, IN. The purpose of the forms is to naturally interact with the green space on both sections of the interchange.
Armstrong, a student at the Herron School of Art and Design, said she had planned to use things that she used in her previous works: colors and multiple forms.
“I wanted to be able to create more than one piece so space can expand,” Armstrong said. “I wanted to create some sort of landmark so that you would recognize where you are. I wanted the feeling to be nomadic.”
“Going home” started off as a proposal sent in by Armstrong to the Public Art Commission during her enrollment at Herron, where she is now completing her MFA with a focus in sculpturing.
The commission chooses the location, but it was up to the selected student to make the art for it. When her proposal was chosen, the project was sponsored by the Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and Lilly Foundations.
When she finished making the sculptures, installation began in December and was completed in February with the help of Herron students and the local construction company.
In 2008, Armstrong received her MA from Eastern with an emphasis in painting and drawing. When she transferred to Herron, Armstrong’s work started going into installation and 3D objects. Eventually, she became a sculpture, a title she doesn’t embrace fully.
“I don’t consider myself a sculptor,” Armstrong said. “All of my work is interdisciplinary. I start with an idea and investigate material second. Sculpturing can be film, video, or anything.
Those are the layers of what that work can be. It’s all about expanding that material.”
Sculpture professor Jeff Boshart said he was glad to see a student of Eastern earn the privilege of creating public art.
“It’s one of those pieces that you drive by and say, ‘that is unusual,'” Boshart said. “Because of that, they stand out so wonderfully. It stops you; not literally.”
Micheal Cortez can be reached at 581-7942 or