IMUPC annual photo show on Friday has historic Indiana churches as theme

This Friday, the Indy Meetup Photo Club will present its third annual November photographic show in Indianapolis. Like the two previous shows, IMUPC will have its exhibit on the same night as a First Friday Art Walk in Indianapolis. Unlike the first two, which were held in the Indiana Landmarks Center (a card-carrying Art Walk venue), Friday's show will be at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, just a few blocks west of the IL.

The Harrison Site, 1230 N. Delaware St., in the Old Northside Neighborhood of Indianapolis, is not a member of the Indiana Downtown Artists and Dealers Association, so technically, it is not a First Friday Art Walk venue. IMUPC couldn't show at the IL this year because the November Art Walk coincided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual Conference, which is being held in Indianapolis through Nov. 2. Indiana Landmarks is serving as the host and base of operations for the conference and will be a beehive of activity related to the conference. The people at the Benjamin Harrison House enthusiastically invited us to have our show there instead.

IMUPC chose "Historic Churches of Indiana" for its theme in this year's show, and my seven pictures on display there will be from four churches -- the iconic chapel at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind.; St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, both in downtown Indianapolis; and Garfield Park Baptist Church on the Southside of Indianapolis (see previous post).

Most of my pictures will be a little different than what you might expect, I'd imagine. Six of them will be interior shots, most of them either using ceilings as the compositional subject or at least integrating ceilings as a significant secondary element. The seventh photo, a night shot of the baptist church, was added to my offerings at the last minute.

Other club members that I know are participating include Brad Brown, Rhonda Clark, Sarah Crail, Karen DeSplinter, Connie Hamm, Tom McFarland, Sundaresh Ramanathan, Don Saxon, Kristi Swift, Carol Thompson and Heather Ziliak. I know they will be showing photos from churches in Hendricks County, St. Meinrad Seminary, the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's Church in downtown Indianapolis, among other places. 

Of the two pictures you see in this post, only one -- the image leading off the post -- will be in the show. That image was taken last fall, a year ago, at St. John's. The smaller image in the post was one I had considered using, but decided against because it didn't have much of a secondary element to elevate beyond being just a pattern. It was taken at the cathedral, and it, too, was taken last fall.

Admission to the show, which runs from 6 to 9 p.m., is free; we'll have some hors d'oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages, and visitors will be allowed to tour the house while they are there. So if you've never been to the Benjamin Harrison Home, this would be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Former Indy Star photographer Gary Moore will be on hand selling and signing copies of his new book "Brown County Mornings."