Indianapolis Star
By Neil Taflinger
Artur Silva grew up in Brazil but was weaned on American television and hip-hop, a musical form he calls “a world institution.” His affinity for hip-hop guided the development of his newest sculpture, “Rock Steady Gravity Sketch,” which he installed Friday near 10th Street and Indiana Avenue.
The sculpture is the first of three works commissioned by Buckingham Companies to be installed outside of The Avenue, a mixed-use development on the northeast corner of the intersection. Silva says that the piece, which features a b-boy executing a handstand, is “about contemporary life and our relationship with the past.”
Silva studied the history of Indiana Avenue and wanted to express a connection between the Jazz Age, during which the Avenue was a hub of African-American life in Indianapolis, and hip-hop culture.
“They both have a relationship with improvisation and they both have a relationship with struggle,” Silva said. “People who come out of struggle can make something that changes the world.”
According to a release by Buckingham Companies, two additional sculptures will be installed at The Avenue in the next month. One is a creative piece designed and fabricated by Herron student Joanna Tanaskovich, and the other is a totem column sculpture entitled “At The Crossroads”, created by local artist D. DelReverda-Jennings.