Crossroads: The Paintings of John Mellencamp, which opens on September 5, 2024, is the first exhibition at Indiana University (IU) to focus on the paintings of Indiana-born artist John Mellencamp. Since the 1970s, when he arrived in New York City to pursue a career in music and art, Mellencamp has created works of art that express a conflicted view of America, especially the plight of Americans living in the Midwest who have felt abandoned and overlooked. European Expressionism and American Regionalism serve as inspirations for Mellencamp’s artistic practice, providing a means of articulating social criticism in visual terms. Influences include German Expressionist Max Beckmann, Austrian Secessionist Egon Schiele, Walt Kuhn, Jack Levine, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. The exhibition explores common themes in Mellencamp’s work, including relationships, politics, self-portraits, outsiders, and life in small towns in the nation’s heartland.
The exhibition was organized in part by IU students who participated in the spring 2024 class Public Art and Collaboration: Curating the Heartland: Developing an Exhibition of John Mellencamp’s Painting, which was taught by David A. Brenneman, Wilma E. Kelley Director of the Eskenazi Museum of Art, and Caleb Weintraub, Associate Professor of Painting at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.
About John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp is a member of the Rock and Roll and Songwriters Halls of Fame, a recipient of the John Steinbeck Award, ASCAP Foundation’s Champion Award, The Woody Guthrie Award, the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Founders Award, the top honor assigned by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
More information: https://artmuseum.indiana.edu
