Charles Gick

If you visit the Indianapolis International Airport, you’re likely to see some of Charles Gick’s recent work. Gick is a Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue, and his work focuses on art, technology, and the environment as they relate to human understanding. Growing up in Indiana, Gick feels a strong connection to the people and environment here.

“I’m from a big rural Indiana farm family. That’s part of my language and experience. Coming from that and seeing what’s happening with my own family’s land and neighbors’ land has inspired my work.” Gick’s most recent piece, “Earth Sky Coat” consists of an XXL leather coat made in Pakistan, and has thousands of soil samples from Indiana stitched into cloth bags on the outside of the coat. The coat also contains organic materials from around the world, and is sewn with red-waxed linen thread from Europe. The threads explode outward from the center of the jacket, attached to pocket and wristwatches, some of which hold images of the sky.

“Hopefully people have a conversation with it; bring to it what they want to, but see my conversation between art and the environment; art and technology and environment; and human connection with the environment.”