''Twisted House'' is a public artwork by American artist

John McNaughton John McNaughton (born January 13, 1950) is an American film and television director, originally from Chicago, Illinois, whose works encompass the horror, thriller, drama and comedy film genres. His films include '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial ...

, located at the

Indianapolis Art Center The Indianapolis Art Center is an art center located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The Center, founded in 1934 by the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression as the Indianapolis Art League, is located along the White ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. ''Twisted House'' was installed as part of the center's ARTSPARK initiative.

Description

The sculpture is made of

cedar wood Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus '' Cedrus''. Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World ''Cedrus'' the only "true cedars". Many other species worldwide with similar ...

and depicts a tall house, bent in such a way that it appears to rest on its foundation and roof. The roof of the house digs into the forest floor and five square, glass windows travel upwards on the house and a distorted door juts to the right, open for viewers to interact with—inside one can step and look out a large window looking out into the forest. The windows each have sills with exterior flower holders and fake wood flowers. The piece sits on natural stone placed in the ground and the dirt of the forest grounds.

John McNaughton

John McNaughton has been teaching

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

, drawing and sculpture for over 35 years at the

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

. Receiving his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts at Ball State University and his Master of Fine Arts at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research ...

, he has been awarded two

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federa ...

awards. His art furniture and sculptures reside in the collections of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, the

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...

and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

Acquisition

This piece was placed in conjunction with the center's ARTSPARK which brings together art and nature.

Information

According to the Indianapolis Art Center, McNaughton's goal with the work is to show viewers that sculpture can be interactive and touch heavily into the imagination. Starting in June 2010 IAC hosted a "Community Masterpiece" event designed by artist Vandra Pentecost. The mural consists of seven panels with each one depicting ''Twisted House'' in a different artistic style: expressionism, realism,

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

American scene painting American Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that included paintings, murals, lithographs, and illustrations depicting realistic scenes of rural and small-town America primarily in the Midwest. It arose in the 1930s as a resp ...

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, pop art and

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. The two panels for pop art and surrealism were completed at the Broad Ripple Art Fair by visitors. In July and August the rest of the panels were completed and the full

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

now resides on the Outreach Lawn Wall of the ARTSPARK.

Reception

'' Roadside America'' describes ''Twisted House'' as "A work of whimsical lopsided outdoor art, suggesting something that's gone terribly wrong at a fairy tale theme park."

References

External links

A video tour of ''Twisted House'' by IAC staff''Twisted House'' on "Only In Your State"
{{Woodworking Houses in Indianapolis 2005 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Indianapolis Indianapolis Art Center artworks Woodworking Wooden houses in the United States Wooden sculptures in Indiana