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Contributor:
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Babble On. | Login
Babble On. | Login
Channels: Contemporary ArtExhibitions
Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts and Jack Kerouac's On the Road scroll talks with IMA staff about Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson, the influence of The Beats on his life, the everlasting influence of Kerouac’s On the Road, and much more.
I think that the key thing is that the theme, every young person in this country can relate, "Getting into a car with a friend or two and driving the countryside on a great adventure."
So, that theme along with knowing about the Beats really, kind of, connected me with the book and the scroll.
I always say, it found me in some ways. I think that's the way I kind of operate; I don't really know what might interest me tomorrow
or year a from now or a month from now, but when I found out it was available and I went to see it at the John Hancock Building in Chicago, where Christie's had an office, then it changed things a little bit.
I was like, "Wow...this is something really special," when I physically saw it. And then I talked to the late Hunter S. Thompson, who was a good friend, and Cameron Crow, another great writer.
And we talked about where does this scroll, where does the body of work of "On the Road", where does is it fall in American literature,
what's its impact. And really from thinking about not only American literature but pop culture etc., it was really determined this was the Holy Grail of the Beats.
They really came in, in the '50s after World War II and had the courage, really, to say and start doing some radical stuff that really, kind of, was already happening with jazz
and folk music and different things, but they really pushed the envelope. It's kind of like when the Sex Pistols came out and blew up disco, so to speak. These guys were kind of blowing up the conservative '50s and had a lot of courage.
A lot of times people go back in history and think about the place they're in, in 2008, and they don't realize what a tough time it was to have that much courage as an artist and those sorts of things.
And certainly I think just the love of great writing, but also kind of what the Beats stood for, which was being radical.
I was always leaning more towards the radical element. When we were kids, we always had the argument, arguing McCartney's side or Lennon's side,
because they were kind of...Paul was more the cute love song writer and John was the radical and I was always tied to the radicals.
You have an event where the scroll is at and people choose to gather there to see it, to celebrate, to go with friends and then something happens, magically, where there is a connection of people,
people meet people and that's kind of what life is about, it's kind of creating the moments where it's that shared experience
and really getting around it and enjoying it.
Watch movies, listen to songs, see TV shows, it's referenced a lot, it's kind of referenced in the radical art form of freedom,
of travel, of great literature, of the romantic notion of being young and free and getting in that car and going. So, there is no question that this is a big part of culture,
even internationally.
Being a Hoosier, being from Indiana, we had to get it here even though it wasn't Bloomington, we wanted to get it to Indianapolis...
and so the journey kind of continues, but it's great to get it right here in Indy.
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