"Sporting Words" Exhibit Pairs Art-Inspired Poetry with Museum Paintings

Poems written by eight Central Indiana poets who were inspired by paintings in the National Art Museum of Sport (NAMOS) are now on exhibit with the art at the museum, located in the University Place Conference Center & Hotel on the IUPUI campus.

The long-term exhibit is a follow-up to the Third National Gathering of Poets Laureate in June 2007, organized by Indiana's 2002-2007 poet laureate Joyce Brinkman with the theme of "Sporting Words."

Participating poets will read their poems during a special evening at the museum from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, 2008, in the Reading Room of the NAMOS galleries at University Place. In addition to hosting the poetry reading, the museum will introduce 25 acrylic paintings of National Basketball League players by Indianapolis artist, C.W. Mundy. The paintings are a recent gift to the museum.

The evening also will feature a farewell to the juried-selected entries in "The Athlete and the Artist" competition sponsored by NAMOS for the Art Students League of New York. The entries are being sent to New York for exhibit at the new Sports Museum of America and the Art Students League building.

The poets featured in the Sporting Words exhibit and the paintings that inspired them are:

Joyce Brinkman, Indianapolis - Frank V. Smith's "Mallards Coming In"

Ruthelen Burns, Carmel - Fay Moore's "Ed Hahn in Action" (Squash)

Phoenix Cole, Indianapolis - Donald Moss's "Arthur Ashe"

Barry Harris, Zionsville - Douglas Daniel's "Larry Bird: Indiana Legend"

Joe Heithaus, Greencastle - Mervin Honig's "Uasher at Shea Stadium, Queens"

JL Kato, Indianapolis - Peter Helck's " Brighton 24-Hour Race 1909"

James Murdock, Greentown - Germain G. Glidden's "Study for Self-Portrait" (Squash)

Michael Strosahl, Elwood - Tom Hill's "Ecce Homo" (Boxing)

The NAMOS is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Admission is free of charge.

The Indiana Arts Commission hosted the "Sporting Words" conference with the help of grants from the Efroymson Fund, a Central Indiana Community Fund, Lilly Endowment Inc., Cinergy Foundation, and other organizations and individuals.

The NAMOS, founded in 1959, is one of the nation's largest collections of art depicting sport. The museum is supported by the Indiana Arts Commission through the Regional Arts Partnership.

For additional information call 317-274-3627, or visit www.namos.iupui.edu.