Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
By spotlighting the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Indianapolis 500 and Robert Indiana’s “Love” sculpture in commissioned works of art, the InterContinental Hotel aims to leave no question about its local identity.
The luxury hotel also pays tribute to Broad Ripple High School alum David Letterman among 24 pieces displayed in lobbies, hallways, meeting rooms and guest rooms. Created by Indianapolis-based artist Taylor Smith, “David Letterman 2.0” is a portrait painted on a colorful canvas of recycled computer floppy disks.
“I think this invites the guests to take a closer look or be surprised by what they just walked by,” said Izabela Ozdemir, founder of OVAS Design LLC. Ozdemir led efforts to acquire art for the InterContinental, which opened Monday at 17 W. Market St.
“We want these guests to really remember Indianapolis, and the InterContinental Indianapolis is
something they will refer to when they’re in San Francisco or Tokyo. They’re going to remember this guy right here,” said Ozdemir, nodding to the Letterman depiction that upcycles nearly forgotten technology into memorable pop art.
Artist Smith said floppy disks—3.5-inch storage devices that were ubiquitous from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s—add a sculptural quality to her paintings.
“There’s a fondness and a nostalgia for these things we used to put in a computer and take out and put in our pocket,” Smith said. “Even as kids, you could ride your skateboard down the street with your homework and put it in your friend’s computer. I think it brings people back.”
Fifteen artists, including 11 based in Indiana, are represented in works displayed at the hotel.
That list doesn’t include a reception desk visually suggestive of a cloud. The InterContinental commissioned Indianapolis-based 900 North Studios to craft the 12-foot-long desk made of powder-coated aluminum. Cory Constantine, founder of 900 North Studios, served as lead designer, and Zach Hurst was the lead fabricator.
The InterContinental isn’t the first Indianapolis hotel to make visual art an emphasized amenity. The Alexander, 333 S. Delaware St., opened in 2013 with installations of acclaimed art ranging from Jorge Pardo’s hanging lamps in the Plat 99 bar to Sonya Clark’s made-of-combs portrait of hair-care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.
But the InterContinental’s art program is noteworthy for its tight focus on Indianapolis topics.
A guest room on the seventh floor includes two examples of art inspired by the Illinois Building, the 99-year-old structure now occupied by the InterContinental, and one inspired by nearby Monument Circle.
For a collage titled “View from Illinois and Market Streets,” photographer Eric Lubrick broke apart the Illinois Building and positioned elements against a bright blue sky.
“It’s floating effortlessly,” said Ozdemir, who’s married to Ersal Ozdemir, CEO of Keystone Group, the company that spent $101 million to develop the hotel. “The composition is just stunning to look at.”
Indianapolis-based artist Matthew Aaron collaborated with the Indiana Historical Society for “Blueprint to the Past,” a piece that fuses modern photography of the Illinois Building with an original blueprint of the building’s exterior.
Mary Morgan, owner of M2 Consulting Group LLC, said “Blueprint to the Past” was an early commission that influenced the rest of the InterContinental collection.
“We wanted to honor the history of the building and the architecture because it’s so significant,” said Morgan, whose company was hired by Ozdemir. “But we also wanted to bring it up to an updated feel.”
The third artwork in the guest room is “Monument Circle,” by Chicago-based artist Emma Lyons. An Indianapolis native who studied theater at the University of Indianapolis, Lyons built her mixed-media piece on an overhead schematic of Monument Circle dating to 1899’s Baist Property Atlas.
Modern love
The Ozdemirs’ history of embracing pop art in Indianapolis includes financial support of 2014’s installation of Roy Lichtenstein’s “Five Brushstrokes” sculptures on the grounds of Newfields.
“I love pop art,” Izabela Ozdemir said. “I think the way we’ve included it here is by having classical icons like Letterman with tactile floppy disks to make it a little bit different, yet elevated for that sophisticated traveler.”
Art consultant Morgan said Ozdemir didn’t want the InterContinental’s art program to be predictable.
“It was a treat to work with Izabela because she was open to, ‘Let’s not do what’s been done,’ and, ‘Let’s not do the expected thing you see when you come into a hotel,’” Morgan said. “It was fun to see all of this come together. Once it’s all up, it really tells that story.”
Ozdemir has served on the boards of the American Piano Awards, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Dance Kaleidoscope and Great American Songbook Foundation.
She’s now on the board of advisers for Discovering Broadway, a nonprofit that brings creative teams and cast members to central Indiana to work on musicals that aim for a shot on Broadway.
After growing up in Carmel as an accomplished dancer, Ozdemir was a cast member in the national touring company of “Cats” in 1996-1997.
Joel Kirk, founder of Discovering Broadway, said he and Ozdemir have a natural connection because of her theatrical background.
He credits former Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard for mentioning Ozdemir as a potential supporter for the organization Kirk established in 2018.
“Most new partners, new contributors and new sponsors come through a trusted friend or come through a reliable connection,” Kirk said.
Ozdemir has hosted Discovering Broadway events at her home and introduced other business leaders to the organization’s concept, he said.
“There’s nothing better than somebody who’s all in like Izabela,” Kirk said.
Collaborative efforts
When assembling the InterContinental’s roster of artists, Ozdemir wasn’t looking for one-sided relationships.
“I made sure to let Mary know that this is a collaboration,” Ozdemir said. “It’s not just, ‘I want to buy this painting.’ The artists hopefully would be willing to work with us, because it’s a curated art program and it really does have to go with the design aesthetic. … It was a matter of, ‘Work with us. We want to work with you and highlight you.’”
Lubrick, who works by day as senior photographer at Newfields, said he enjoyed working with Ozdemir and consultant Stuart Alter of the Stutz Artists Association.
“There was a back and forth of, ‘How busy is it?’ ‘Is it too busy?’” Lubrick said of three photo collages on display at the InterContinental. “‘Is it going to fit the needs of the space?’ It was a nice way of utilizing an aesthetic that I have worked on and built.”
Smith’s painting of Letterman shows the bearded, current-day version of the iconic talk show host. That decision was influenced by Ozdemir and her team, Smith said.
“I had a dialogue with them and got a consensus that most people thought the bearded Letterman would be the best,” Smith said. “Because his beard is big and holds a lot of floppy disks, that may have contributed to that image winning out.”
Sense of place
Ersal Ozdemir owns the Indy Eleven professional soccer team, which is represented in multiple works of art at the InterContinental.
Atlanta-based artist Alexi Torres applied a soccer ball texture to his painting of Victory, the statue atop the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Los Angeles-based artist Guerin Swing paid dual tribute to the Indy 500 and Indy Eleven in a work titled “11,000 RPM.”
Popular Indianapolis-based artist Walter Knabe is represented by two works at the InterContinental, including one titled “Indianapolis: Home of Indy Eleven.” And when Brownsburg-based artist Cindy Cradler created “Racing Down Illinois Street” as a painting inspired by the game Monopoly, the dice on the board were positioned to show an “11.”
And although Martin Luther King Jr. might not have obvious ties to Indianapolis, the late civil rights activist is pictured in a work by Kenneth “Fingercreations” Hordge.
A member of the Eighteen Art Collective that painted the “Black Lives Matter” mural on Indiana Avenue in 2020, Hordge specializes in portraits made of paint and pieces of glass suspended in an epoxy resin.
Ozdemir and Morgan said King is commemorated at the InterContinental because of his 1958 speech at Cadle Tabernacle that was moved from the Senate Avenue YMCA to accommodate a larger audience
Perhaps the most educational artwork at the hotel is “Music That Made Us: Indiana’s Recording Legacy.” Indianapolis-based visual artist Will Woodrow, who’s also a musician, created a grid of 24 records to showcase a wide array of acts who have Indiana ties.
It’s unlikely that any previous project brought together Hoagy Carmichael, the Why Store, the Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, the Gizmos, Cole Porter, Zero Boys, Guns N’ Roses, John Mellencamp, Umphrey’s McGee, Wes Montgomery and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds in a single image.
Kirk, the Discovering Broadway founder, said he’s a fan of spreading the word.
“Most of the guest artists we’re bringing [to town to work on Discovering Broadway] have never stepped foot in Indiana,” Kirk said. “They haven’t even driven through it. If they leave here and they don’t learn anything about Indiana or the people who have been here or the people who have made it great, I think it’s a missed opportunity.”•
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.