A 30-foot sculpture is planned for Broad Ripple. Some welcome it; others call it 'tall scary man'

Indianapolis Star

4 days ago

Artist Jason Myers designed his new sculpture — slated to stand at a high-profile Broad Ripple intersection — to be a welcoming modern-day guardian that embodies the neighborhood's movement, transformation and artistic expression.
But many residents have the opposite feeling about the 30-foot-tall figurative man that will light up at night. On social media and at a public meeting, they have said they find the work, which they have seen depicted in drawings, to be grotesque, unwelcoming and a potential distraction for drivers.
The recent outcry has surprised the organizers who are bringing the sculpture, called "Gavin-Divergence," to the northwest corner of College Avenue and Westfield Boulevard.
Plans have been in the works for 18 months, said Tag Birge, a real-estate developer and investor who co-founded the Birge Family Foundation, which is funding the art as part of a partnership that includes the Indy Art Center and Penrod Society. Business owners and community members at a February public meeting responded positively to the piece, he said.
But as the Nextdoor posts have circulated, more residents have spoken out about the sculpture. About 20 attended a Broad Ripple Village Association Land Use and Development Committee meeting July 22 to voice their concerns.
At this point, "Gavin-Divergence" is under construction and not a done deal, Birge told IndyStar. He said organizers are awaiting an upcoming Board of Zoning Appeals public meeting that will determine whether to grant a variance to adjust the sightlines for the sculpture at the intersection.
In the mean time, the dispute about how the proposed sculpture will represent the community is ongoing.
The Birge Family Foundation has largely focused on education and healthcare initiatives. Now, it's adding public art to its portfolio to help reinvigorate what Birge calls the city's woefully underfunded arts infrastructure.
"When I grew up, Broad Ripple was the arts and cultural district, and now we have competition," Birge said. "Carmel is really pulling a lot of the arts and cultural energy that we've had in Broad Ripple for years. We have to reinvest in our arts and cultural districts. It can't be static. You can't just rely on what you had in 1980 and hope that things go well."
Eventually, the foundation plans to join with more partners to raise at least $1 million to create five pieces of public art in the neighborhood by multiple artists, Birge said. He declined to say how much the foundation is paying for Myers's "Gavin-Divergence."
The Birge Family Foundation commissioned the piece from Myers, which the Indy Art Center will own and maintain.
Myers, whose main U.S. studio is in his hometown of Logansport, lived in the Circle City for about 15 years starting in 2001, residing in Broad Ripple and operating the Artbox gallery at the Stutz. While there, he met Birge, who grew up in and around Broad Ripple. The two have remained in touch.
"I've put pieces in Cologne, Germany; and Amsterdam; and Miami; and Palm Beach; and Napa, California. You know, I'm probably more excited about this piece in Broad Ripple than any of those just because (of) its relationship to me and where I grew up and where I'm part of that community," Myers said.
At Birge's request, the Broad Ripple Village Association listed several locations where public art would be a good fit, and the corner of College and Westfield was most impactful, Birge said.
The association did not select the art but has tried to spread the word about it among its newsletter subscribers and membership, said executive director Jordan Dillon.
"We tried to be a resource for a citizen or a charitable group who wanted to bring a piece of art into the community and to help kind of share with them best practices," Dillon said. "We provided a lot of different locations where we think public art could be great in the area, and there's no shortage of them in Broad Ripple. We tended to agree with them that this location was going to be the most impactful for our area."
But many Broad Ripple residents are not sold on the sculpture. Resident Brett Rathmell posted on the social media app NextDoor recently, sparking a plethora of comments that were mostly complaints. He said he became aware of "Gavin-Divergence" in mid-July, when his neighbor received notice of a public hearing about the variance petition for the area.
Rathmell said he likes the sculpture but thinks it would be better placed elsewhere, like the Indy Art Center.
For the intersection in question, "(it) just feels like it'd be nice to enhance what they have there or just add something that evokes community, people, warmth, emotion, going out, entertainment, warm and fuzzy things — not a tall, scary man, singular, that evokes fear," he told IndyStar.
A July 22 Broad Ripple Village Association Land Use and Development Committee meeting on the variance petition, and not the sculpture itself, drew about 20 people. Several came to comment about the sculpture or its impact.
"That does not say 'Welcome to Broad Ripple,'" said Nancy Siebert, who's lived in the neighborhood for almost 50 years.
Across his 40 years as a resident, Glenn Plaster said he's watched Broad Ripple evolve from a cultural gem to a mishmash of parking garages and high-rise buildings. In his mind, "Gavin-Divergence" doesn't speak to the village's history.
"I don't know what this artwork is supposed to represent. I don't see how it represents anything," Plaster said.
John Pantzer said he wasn't opposed to the sculpture itself but was worried about whether such a tall piece of art would distract drivers at a busy intersection where cars, pedestrians and cyclists converge.
"For the people who do want to come see it: Where are they going to stand? Where are they going to congregate? Could it cause accidents?" Pantzer said.
While committee chair Bo Boroski cited recent city data saying the intersection has not seen collisions and injuries, the committee moved to recommend approval of the variance petition and included a recommendation to remove the right turn on red for those traveling south on College to west on Westfield.
So far, "Gavin-Divergence" will proceed as planned for the intersection, Birge said, but he's open to more discussion.
"If the BRVA came to me and said, after the public meetings were done and working on this for 18 months, that they thought there was a more impactful location, I would be open to it," Birge said. "But I think this is probably the most impactful location to start bringing art to activate the area."
Myers said people will connect better with the in-person sculpture than with the computer-aided drafting drawings, which were intended to engineer the piece. He said similar sculptures on his website at jasonmyersart.com give a better idea of what it will look like. And, as a seasoned artist, he said he understands criticism.
"Public art is supposed to generate conversation," Myers said. "Not everyone's going to connect with the piece right away. But people are reacting, whether it's curiosity, confusion or even criticism. That means people are engaging in their community, and that means people are taking some responsibility for the art in their environment."
Public comment about the variance petition will be welcome during an upcoming hearing of Division 1 of the Board of Zoning Appeals at 1 p.m. Sept. 2 on the second floor of the City-County Building.
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