My Indiana Muse Film Screening

Event Details

The Highland Arts Council holds a screening and discussion of My Indiana Muse, a documentary that follows the journey of artist Robert Townsend and the person who inspired his art for more than a decade—a woman named Helen from Highland, Indiana.

Throughout his career as an artist, Townsend has given new life to Americana landscapes. From matchbooks and candy wrappers to buildings and characters, he returns the viewer to another place and time. In 2014, after purchasing a collection of Kodachrome slides on eBay, he discovered a new muse: Helen, who was pictured in many of the images. Over the next decade, Helen became the primary subject of Townsend’s paintings.

When each of Townsend’s artworks can take an entire month to paint, what could be so powerful about this one woman who inspired Townsend to spend the next ten years of his life devoted to painting just her? This is the question that My Indiana Muse sets out to answer. Townsend’s art is given new life as he dives deeper into Helen’s life, visiting places she’s been and meeting people who knew her. Viewers discover why Townsend identifies with and becomes charmed by Helen, and they in turn are drawn to her. Helen is their aunt, their neighbor, the woman at the grocery store. Viewers come to understand that each of their lives deserves to be cherished, in the way that Townsend cherishes the life of Helen, the woman he’s only beginning to know.

The screening of My Indiana Muse takes place in Highland High School’s Monbeck Auditorium at 7 p.m. CDT. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The film runs 44 minutes and will include a brief intermission. Afterward, a panel will lead the audience in a discussion of the film’s story and themes.

To preview the film, watch the trailer on YouTube. To reserve your tickets, click on the RSVP link above.

For more information, contact the Highland Arts Council via the Highland Community Foundation’s website.

This program received support from an Indiana Humanities Action Grant.