If you travel north along 9th Street to where it passes under I-65 (near the Prophetstown State…read morePark), you can see the support structures for the interstate were painted on the northwest side of the road. Artist Andrei Krautsou knocked out this pair of murals in only five days. Both murals have an energy theme. The one on the left has plants growing in a field with the crop being the energy efficient light bulbs replacing a blossom. The one on the right shows wind turbines growing out of the plants in similar fashion. Both emphasize the relationship between energy supply and nature and that they can co-exist with planning. Review #1538

Pickett Memorial Park is one of my favorite parks in West Lafayette. The park, though small,…read morecurrently has six public art sculptures, three picnic areas, and a small parking lot (hopefully, construction on Stadium will restore driving access soon!) There are a few trees for shade, but mostly, the park is away from the bustle of campus and provides a relaxing spot to enjoy fresh air and some interesting art, several with Hoosier ties. The park is named for a Purdue student who died in a hiking accident. His parents wanted to honor his love of the outdoors by donating funds for the park. The art pieces included the following: Kaikoo VI by Betty Gold (the red metallic one) Limits by Joey Manson (the light blue one) Man and Technology by Don Lawler (the limestone hand) Sycamore Arch by Ken Thompson (limestone arch) Zig by Ken Thompson (a blocky rust brown sculpture) and an untitled piece that looks like an elevated oblong shape with vertical rows wrapped by horizontal rows on the top. Review #1136

One of Cameron Moberg's (Camer1) contributions to the Ren Art Walk in 2019 was the addition of a…read moregiant sea turtle to the side of a building on the east block of the alley gallery of murals. The colorful mural is done in shades of green and is larger than life! It is swimming upward towards the viewer's left. The artist cleverly positioned the turtle to avoid some of the natural obstacles presented by the shape and supporting equipment on the wall. Review #3036

One of the murals on the western block of the Rensselaer Art Walk is a piece by Shawn Bullen…read more(2019). The piece is on the far east end of the block on the back of the building that fronts Washington St. The mural shows a little bit of everything. First, there are lots of animals, both pets and wild ones. There is also a red Mustang car, a swirled ice cream cone, a burger, and French Toast while in the background, it looks like scenes from the Rensselaer area. Just a bit of everything that you might find here. The mural is very colorful and helps draw you into the alley to see the rest of the murals. Review #3039

If you visit the parks in West Lafayette, you are bound to encounter some public art as you enter…read moreand leave the park. In 2019, Happy Hollow Park received four new sculptures: one for each entrance. The West Lafayette Public Arts Team commissioned the four pieces from Pennsylvania artist Bill Secunda. Taking nearly 2 years to complete, the four sculptures are made from steel and depict different insects that can be found in the area. Seems like a great complement to the woodsy nature of the park. At the main entrance, a 26' Praying Mantis can be seen hunting for lightning bugs (3). To the west at the park entrance along Kingston Road is a cricket that is much smaller in scale. Northwest of that along Salisbury Street can be seen a Dragonfly resting on cattails. And along the the north side of the park at the Indian Trail entrance can be found a Luna Moth. The steel is already oxidizing, so I hope that the material will last for many years to come. Excellent, life-like depictions of the insects show a great deal of skill in manipulating of such a large scale sculpture. I can't wait to see what the other parks continue to add. Review #3710

Outside of the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is a statue of Neil Armstrong as he would have…read morelooked like while attending Perdue University. Next to the statue is a display of his footprints made famous by becoming the first person to walk on the moon. If you're on the Perdue University campus the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is a great place for a picture. Inside the building is a model of a space capsule like the one that Neil Armstrong would have been in. The Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is definitely worth a stop when your on the Purdue University campus.

"Houston, Tranquility Base Here. The Eagle has Landed."…read more One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Next to a statue of Neil Armstrong (who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue in 1955), you'll find this replica of the steps that he took on the Moon. Yes, they look just like the famous footstep. Yes, you can actually walk in his steps. And while You won't bounce as high as he did due to the higher gravity here on Earth, you can absolutely pretend. [Review 20590 overall - 124 in Indiana - 1571 of 2023.] * Yelp wants to call this the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering which is not what I added them as. We'll just go with that. It's not that, but I'm not going to argue with them this time.

This mural should be thought of as the Godfather of public art in Rensselaer. It has a great…read morelocation and can be seen by everyone traveling eastbound on US 231/Washington Street as you enter the downtown area since 2016. Back then, the Tippecanoe Arts Federation choose Cameron Moberg (Camer1) to bring public art via murals to lots of towns throughout the Tippecanoe Valley/greater Lafayette metro area. This particular mural shows a colorful bird taking off from the ground on the lower left and soaring to the upper right. One of the deep jade tail feathers has been left behind. Through efforts of the new owners of the building (eMbers Station), the artist was pursuaded to bring some friends/fellow artists to Rensselaer to create an Art Walk (#RenArtWlk) in 2019. Most of the artists had participated in the Wabash Walls 2019 in Lafayette as well. Now, there are two blocks of murals in the alley on the north side of the buildings facing Washington St. And it is very cool to see. But if it hadn't been for the right artist and the right owners and the participation of lots of cooperating businesses/towns people in Rensselaer, this cool cultural exhibit wouldn't exist that sets Rensselaer apart from hundreds of small towns in Indiana. Check it out! Review #3034

While searching for "Springs to Life", a mural sponsored by the Tippecanoe Arts Federation (TAF) in…read more2014, I was able to find a lot more art than expected. The TAF organized a Mural Art Initiative that has added murals to eight counties that may have little else in the form of public art. The goal of the art is both art appreciation and education, and often has student involvement in the painting of the murals. Springs to Life has a great location on Columbia Street (SR18). It was designed by local art teacher Branden Apitz who led the local students in painting the mural. Playing with the town name of Flora, the mural shows flowers rising from the soil. While visiting the mural, I also found the memorial bench (Six Girls Stone Immaculate) that was created to honor the memory of six county girls who died under tragic circumstances in 2016-7. Two teenage girls from Delphi were killed while on a trail. Four Flora girls died in a suspicious house fire. Branden Apitz worked with students to create this memorial to honor the memory of those girls. A block to the north is a mural that tells the History of Flora. The mural is done in pastels and has a narrative as well as several images of locals who where integral in the town's history. Across the street is another mural that promotes the local library with a mural of Native Americans meeting a time traveling Iron Man. (No date or artist was found) And farther east near the city park, there is a mural from 2017 that features cars and the Adams Mill Covered Bridge. Over in Delphi, I found a mural on the block east of the courthouse that has the Heritage of Delphi. There are multiple images of prominent Hoosiers including James Whitcomb Riley. And finally, on the block southwest of the courthouse is a mural on the side of Andy's from 2013 by local artists the Cervantes Bros. Although the art may not be professionally done, it is colorful and adds a touch of life to the downtown areas of these towns. Review #2803

It's still up in Flora Indiana, nice work on the mural done by Students recognized for their work…read morewith the project were Cambree Roland, Brody MacCurdy, Kasey MacCurdy, Haley Savage, Taylor Brewington, Drew Jackson, Bradley McCain, Thomas Miller, DJ Plank, Tyler Robinson, Zach Batt, Daniel Defenach, and Tyler Savage.