Hygienic Dress League, photo by Jeff Caverly
You can follow the Detroit-based Hygienic Dress League on Instagram for more interesting public art and see a video about their artwork on Vimeo.
View Jeff’s photo from Huron County background big, see more in his slideshow, and also visit his photography website.
Rain Comes (Frankfort Rock Gallery), photo by Andrew McFarlane
As you may know, 2016 is my 11th year of making Michigan in Pictures. I really love doing it and am certainly going to keep it up as long as I am able. It does take a bunch of my time that might otherwise be spent working or getting out to see some of Michigan’s beauty, so I’ve been looking for a way to subsidize it that doesn’t involve ads, paywalls, or other annoyances.
Yesterday, I was reading a blog and saw they had a button to support them using a web service called Patreon. I checked it out, and it basically allows readers to become patrons of blogs they enjoy. Seemed like a great idea to me so I have set it up. If you’d like to donate a buck or more a month, I would very much appreciate it! Click here for my Patreon donations.
OK, on to today’s photo. Back in August of 2007, I was out walking with my friend Ken Lake on Frankfort beach. About a mile north of town we rounded a point and came upon a wondrous site – hundreds of balanced rock sculptures comprised of thousands of rocks. It remains one of the coolest works of art I’ve ever seen, and also a total mystery. I’ve still never heard who built these or why.
You can view this photo background bigtacular and see more in my Rock Gallery slideshow.
PS: Here’s a video I shot of these scene. The audio on this is kind of loud and crappy – sorry. ;)
michigan petoskey stone, photo by Jacob Vanderheyden
The ArtPrize Seven Final 20 has been announced with 3 of the top entries from 2013 once again in the running. Click the link to see them all, incuding this one: michigan petoskey stone by Randall Libby from Manistee. It’s on display at the DeVos Center – here’s the scoop:
WORLDS LARGEST PETOSKEY STONE DISPLAY Using petoskey stone and fossil, a framed two-dimensional display with a square shape that measures approximately nine feet (9ft.) tall by nine feet (9ft.) wide / a depth of approximately 4 inches and a weight near 700lbs. Subject matter- State of Michigan map with all 83 counties. One of a kind Hundreds of hours of labor with hundreds of individual slices of semi-precious stone- this item is sure to compete for top placement in art prize. To see examples of earlier work go to petoskeystoneart.com
View Jacob’s photo background bigtacular and see lots more in his ArtPrize 2015 slideshow.
More of ArtPrize through the years on Michigan in Pictures.
The Sands of Time, photo by Tony Reidsma
Tony Reidsma is one of the photographers I’ve featured on Michigan in Pictures who has an ArtPrize exhibit this year. His entry at ArtPrize says:
This exhibit focuses on the ever-changing shape of the shores of Lake Michigan. The lakeshore is currently experiencing erosion similar to that of the mid-1980’s and late-1990’s. At that time those dwelling on the lakeshore hastened to build the seawalls and jetties which would fortify their properties and homes from the obliterating effect of the waves pushing out of the rising water. Eventually, as the water receded, the sand returned to build up the shoreline and bury the wooden structures that were erected there.
Now, as Lake Michigan moves through its rhythms once again, the water is advancing and the sands retreating, exposing the old, decaying seawalls. I have created a photo-journal of this changing shoreline scenery, featuring the old seawalls and jetties as aged reminders of the cycles which are characteristic to our natural world.
You can watch an interview with Tony at WOOD-TV, learn more at the ArtPrize page on his website and check the exhibit out in person at Crossroads Bible Church (800 Scribner NW).
Motor City, photo by Art Bukowski
I’ve featured a number of photos of the James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle on Michigan in Pictures, but never one with this view. Pretty cool!
View Art’s photo bigger on Facebook.
Detroit Industry, photo by Maia C
A very happy Labor Day to everyone and also a salute the generations of hard-working Michiganders whose struggles helped to build the society we have today.
View Maia’s photo background big and see more in her Rivera Court, Detroit Institute of Arts slideshow.
More Labor Day and more about the Diego Rivera murals at the Detroit Institute of Art on Michigan in Pictures.
Marcus Belgrave is the Door to Jazz, photo by Derek Farr
“In order to get to the future, you have to go to the past. I try to instill that you learn from the masters in your presence and go back and forward from there. In order to find yourself, you have to be cognizant of what went down before you. That’s always been my philosophy.”
~Marcus Belgrave
The Freep reports that world-renown trumpeter Marcus Belgrave has passed away at the age of 78.
It’s impossible to overstate the impact that Belgrave has had on musical culture in Detroit as a musician, teacher and standard-bearer of jazz. Like an African griot (historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician), he came to embody the soul and mythology of the city’s jazz history, handing down the values of swing and blues to multiple generations of students — many of whose fame would eventually outshine his own. Belgrave symbolized Detroit’s continued vitality as an incubator and epicenter of jazz, and he remained a key link between the city and the international jazz scene.
“He became a mentor to entire generations of musicians, and a lot of us would not have found the music without him,” said bassist Rodney Whitaker. “He brought us together. I have not met one musician from the last 50 years in Detroit that Marcus has not had some sort of impact on.”
Belgrave’s A-list resume included a long tenure with Ray Charles in the 1950s and early ’60s and associations with jazz royalty like Max Roach and Charles Mingus. Ultimately, however, Belgrave’s greatest contribution was the remarkable honor roll of his former students who graduated to leading roles on the national scene — including pianist Geri Allen, bassists Whitaker and Robert Hurst, alto saxophonist Kenny Garrett, violinist Regina Carter, and drummers Karriem Riggins, Ali Jackson and Gerald Cleaver.
Read on for lots more about this Detroit jazz legend and also check out their compilation of Belgrave recordings & videos – it’s some wonderful music. Be sure to also check out this great interview with Belgrave about the Detroit jazz scene and a bit of a performance from Eastern Market.
Derek says that four paintings including this one were put on doorways of an abandoned building on Gratiot Avenue near Downtown in 2005, but were taken down for some reason in 2008. View it bigger and see more in his massive Detroit Ruins (and other cities) slideshow.
Rivera Court – Detroit Institute of Arts, photo by Trish P.
Crain’s Detroit Business has a report on this Sunday’s DIA opening ‘Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit’:
When Diego Rivera and his wife and fellow artist Frida Kahlo were in Detroit in 1932-33, the worst of the Great Depression was upon the country.
A labor march had just taken place in Detroit, and four workers had been killed, said Mark Rosenthal, adjunct curator of contemporary art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, speaking during a media preview of the exhibit Tuesday morning.
Rivera and Kahlo, described by the museum as “an explosive couple” in their own right, arrived on the scene — he carrying a pistol, and she carrying a flask.
He romanticized Detroit, and Kahlo, who suffered a miscarriage while in Detroit, rejected the city, the DIA said.
Yet out of that time came pivotal work for both artists.
Rivera created the “Detroit Industry” murals on the DIA’s walls, which he considered to be his greatest work, Rosenthal said. And Kahlo, encouraged by her husband, began to create the paintings that would typify her career and make her famous.
The DIA’s upcoming “Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit” exhibit, which opens Sunday, will give art enthusiasts a chance to see who the artists were before they came to Detroit and who they were after, Rosenthal said.
Read on for more and get information about the exhibit that runs Sunday through July 12th from the DIA (including an opening lecture Sunday at 2).
View Trish’s photo bigger on Flickr and see more in her Detroit slideshow.
Portraits Of The Artist As An Awestruck, Foul-Mouthed, Middle-Aged Child, photo by Liz Glass
Fall is buried under about 70 feet of snow in northern Michigan right now, but at least the pictures remain. Liz explains the title of her photo:
Because you should have heard me when I got down there and confirmed that yes, not only was that aspen leaf covered in droplets of every size, but apparently each one had a mind of its own when it came to choosing what color to be. If anyone can explain this, please speak up. I’ll be the one sprawled out in my driveway saying things like “No f**king way” and “oh my god, get the f**k out of here.”
View her photo bigger and see more in her Autumn slideshow.
PS: If you’re in Boyne City, be sure to stop into her store, the Lake Street Market!
Catfish, photo by Robert Bradley
ArtPrize returns to Grand Rapids for its 5th year next Wednesday and runs September 24 – October 12th. The 19 day event turns downtown Grand Rapids into a free & open art competition for hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes. While you can certainly debate the merits of ArtPrize and the art displayed, there’s no question that this is one of the most engaging and immersive art events in the country.
You can check out the 2014 entries right here, look back through the years on their History page, and also see a video from 2013 that captures some on the flavor and fun. The only way to really experience it is to go, something that I heartily recommend!!
This is part of Kevin Sudeith’s Contemporary Petroglyphs installation along the Grand River.
View Robert’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his ArtPrize 2014 slideshow (which I expect will grow in the weeks to come).
Lots more ArtPrize on Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan in Pictures 