In Search of Mellencamp

"The north garden would be on that side," I mentioned pointing to the left of the building in front of us as we were facing east.  "I have a really good sense of direction,"  I bragged.  Our search for John Mellencamp was nearing a conclusion or so we thought. 

  
On a recent trip to Indiana, I joined my good friends Ross, host of the Album Cockpit Podcast, and Monica on a trip to Bloomington, Indiana in search of the John Mellencamp statue on the campus of Indiana University.  

Two years ago Ross, Monica, my youngest daughter, Kelsey and I made a trip to Seymour, Indiana to explore the hometown of John Mellencamp.  It was a marvelous and enlightening trip as we ate lunch at a downtown diner that John used to visit.  It didn't appear that one thing had changed in that diner since the early 1970s when John would have come there with his friends.  We strolled up and down the streets of Seymour and stopped in to a music shop where several gentlemen were standing around visiting.  The shop was rich in Mellencamp memorabilia that you wouldn't find anywhere else, but the real treasure were the stories the gentlemen told us of John and his family.  It was amazing.  You can hear our recap and breakdown of John Cougar Mellencamp's album on the Album Cockpit Podcast right here. 

So, Ross, Monica and I (no daughter this year) set off to Bloomington and the campus of IU.  It was a hot, sweltering 4th of July morning, and as we arrived it became quickly apparent that the town was packed full of people for a 4th of July parade.  It was a scene of  small town Americana that
definitely gave me the feel of many of John's songs.  We made our way through town, found an open donut shop and took some time for a bit of morning sweets and conversation.  Then it was off to campus in search of Mellencamp.  

It didn't take long to get there as it was only two blocks from the donut shop.  When we stepped onto campus, the entire scenery changed as we went from college town to grand stone buildings of learning placed among park-like trees and grassy spaces.  The campus also has settled onto a hilly landscape which added to the quaint feel.  After a few lefts and rights, up and down stairs through gardens, then the north garden, we came across the statue.  What a sight it was to see the representation of our favorite rock-n-roll star, ready to strike a chord right there in the garden.  We admired the work, took some pictures, Monica placed a floral decoration, we fist bumped to our discovery and moved on, mission accomplished

As we made our way back to town, pleased with our accomplishment, we made a wonderful discovery that continued the adventure!  A sandwich-board sign was placed out in front of a storefront that advertised the art of John Mellencamp!!  Did we stop?  You bet we did, and boy did we discover Mellencamp!  We opened the door of Clash Art Gallery to find an exhibit of Mellencamp's art.  Popping out from the back room of the gallery was talented artist, curator and owner of the gallery, Jennifer Mujezinovic to greet us on this 4th of July.  She shared stories about Mellencamp and how his art came to her gallery which boils down to this: he came in and asked.  Her stories drew a picture of Mellencamp as a person with hopes, worries, excitement just like the rest of us.  This visit was a treasure of art and story.  What a joy!  I was left buzzing all the way back to Indianapolis.  

Like our previous search for Mellencamp in Seymour, the adventure was filled with visual discovery, but the real treasure were the personal stories of our musical hero.