Inflating new life into downtown

Paul Robey

Christian Bowyer, communications and theatre senior, playing in the balloons. There were 1,800 balloons at the Balloonacy event.

Ty Simpson, Staff Reporter
November 2, 2015

Projectors played homemade clips on a false wall and 1,800 white balloons littered the ground as “Balloonacy” took place in downtown New Albany.

Balloonacy is an art installation project born and bred by associate professor of fine arts, Brian Harper and nine IUS students taking his Social Sculpture course.

“Social sculpture means thinking about your actions in the community as creative events,” Harper said.

According to Harper, the main purpose of the installation was to bring life to downtown New Albany.

Angie Howard, fine arts senior, talking to attendants about the art project. She was one of the students who is taking the Social Sculpture class this semester.
Angie Howard, fine arts senior, talking to attendants about the art project. She was one of the students who is taking the Social Sculpture class this semester.

The event took place in a building that Harper has been using as a makeshift classroom all semester. The social sculpture class has a designated classroom on campus, but they prefer to meet in the office space on Market and Main street.

Harper said the owner of the building, Steve Resh, loves to see IUS students interacting in downtown New Albany.

Angie Howard, fine arts senior, is taking the Social Sculpture class this semester and worked to arrange Balloonacy.

Howard said each student had a role to play in setting up the event. Students were assigned to help with the refreshments or advertising; while all the students helped with blowing up the balloons and creating the 16mm film projection.

“We chose to use the white balloons because the color projects better and would help add life to the building with the projection,” Howard said.

The class decided on using balloons because, as Harper points out,

Brian Harper, associate professor of fine arts, preparing for Balloonacy. Harper is the instructor for the Social Sculpture class.
Brian Harper, associate professor of fine arts, preparing for Balloonacy. Harper is the instructor for the Social Sculpture class.

balloons are associated with celebrations. The idea of celebrating the downtown area fits into the classes concept of bringing life to the area.

The class liked the concept of having the balloons litter the floor so that the audience would have to interact and move through them.

The event wasn’t just for IUS faculty and students. New Albany resident Pat Johnson attended the event after finding out about Balloonacy through a Facebook post.

Johnson said she loved the balloons and her only complaint was not being able to see the projection clearly because of the large crowd attending the event.

This is the third event that the Social Sculpture class has hosted downtown since Harper has been teaching it and plans to continue to bring an IUS presence to downtown New Albany.