spirit of detroit redux | detroit, michigan, photo by s o u t h e n
Michigan in Pictures has more about the Spirit of Detroit by Marshall Fredericks and you can take a step inside the lobby of the Guardian Building.
You can see Ryan’s photo bigger, in his Detroit slideshow or purchase it right here!
Detail: Wayne County Building–Detroit MI, photo by pinehurst19475.
Yesterday was a busy day for Michigan in Pictures as a lot of folks came by to learn more about the works of art featured in the Chrysler/Eminem “Imported from Detroit” Super Bowl ad. The Joe Louis Memorial, a shiny clean Spirit of Detroit, the murals of Diego Riviera (which Slate found ironic) and the stunning Fox Theatre have all been touched on here, but there was another sculpture,
At first I thought it was a second work by Marshall Fredericks, sculptor of the Spirit of Detroit and many more iconic works scattered about Michigan. I couldn’t find it under his name, so I widened the net and found Victory, the very first photo that the informative pinehurst19475 ever uploaded to Flickr. The photo was taken in June 2000, and he or she wrote (with my links):
This sculpture is a the base of the tower of the Wayne County Building (formerly the Wayne County Courthouse}, built from 1897-1903 and restored in the late 1980s. This quadriga, entitled “Progress,” is one of two at the building (the other is “Victory”). The sculptor was John Massey Rhind. The Wayne County Building is considered a fine example of Beaux Arts Classicism. To see the quadriga (four-horse chariot) and figures of this sculpture in all their glory, go to the large size version of this photo.
Learn a whole lot about Detroit in Anthony Lockhart’s slideshow.
Welcome to Detroit, photo by mi_kirk
There were a lot of great snapshots from the Motor City in Chrysler’s 2 minute Super Bowl homage to Detroit (and itself) with Eminem, but to me, the most powerful image in this daring ad was the Joe Louis Memorial.
Click above to watch it the ad on Absolute Michigan.
See this photo bigger in Kirk’s Detroit slideshow and tell us what you think on the Absolute Michigan Facebook.
I was in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday and saw some whimsical sculptures and mobiles by Alexander Calder. It didn’t seem like the delicate structures could have come from the same hand. Turns out they did. The Alexander Calder entry on Wikipedia explains:
Alexander Calder (22 July 1898 – 11 November 1976), also known as Sandy Calder, was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing the mobile. In addition to mobile and stabile sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry and jewelry.
…In June 1969, Calder attended the dedication of his monumental stabile “La Grande Vitesse” located in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This sculpture is notable for being the first public work of art in the United States to be funded with federal monies; acquired with funds granted from the then new National Endowment for the Arts under its “Art for Public Places” program.
You can get up close with La Grande Vitesse at West Michigan Sculptures (includes a cool 360 degree walk around) and also check out the Calder slideshow from Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr. You can also read this article about the dedication from the National Endowment of the Arts.
Be sure to check this out bigger or in his Grand Rapids 09 set (slideshow)
Art Prize entry – Telos by Ray Katz by the pentax hammer (gary syrba)
Gary writes that this sculpture is at the Sixth Street Park just north of Downtown in Grand Rapids, and says there’s a lot of excitement in the city about this event … and a lot of prize money at stake too! Check this out bigger in his In the City (Grand Rapids) slideshow.
ArtPrize is open to any artist, and the votes of all visitors will determine who wins the largest art prize in the world: $250,000! Get a map of the venues right here. They write:
At ArtPrize, any artist—from established to emerging—has the chance to show work. Any visitor can vote. The vote will determine who wins the largest art prize in the world. We also took the unusual step to allow people in the city to open a venue and choose the artists to show in their space. There is not one official curator or jury for the competition.
The number of venues is fluid, so the number of competing artists is fluid. The possibilities are wide open. We can’t predict what will happen, but it should be a lot of fun finding out.
You can follow along with coverage of ArtPrize on our Absolute Michigan: On Location blog and get photos in the ArtPrize Grand Rapids group!
Rain is Good, photo by photoshoparama.
This morning, for the first time in a long time, I had the chance to sit down for a few hours with coffee and my computer to wander around the Michigan photosphere and think about what to write on Michigan in Pictures today.
One of the first things I read was Sculpture city in ‘misunderestimated’ Michigan that looks at how Michigan is quietly growing as a destination for tourists of all kinds with landmarks like Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.
Bouncing around in my head was how rainy this summer has been, making things tough for outdoor events like this weekend’s*…
I’ll keep singing “rain, rain, go away” for all these folks and if it doesn’t I’ll try and take comfort in the fact that it’s boosting lake levels and hope that people will remember that rain is good, hunt down their rain gear and still show up to support folks who are working to build more fun stuff in Michigan!
Check out Dan’s photo bigger in his slideshow and splash around in the Frederik Meijer Gardens slideshow from the Absolute Michigan pool.
* Note: these events all came from the Absolute Michigan Event Calendar
Day & Night Diptych, photo by jrde3.
Here’s a few more views of this sculpture and also check out Jonathan’s Port Huron, MI set (slideshow).
The sculptures are located at McMorran Place in Port Huron where they explain that noted sculptor Marshall Fredericks:
…designed these over-life sized figures for the NIGHT AND DAY FOUNTAIN outside of the McMorran Auditorium in Port Huron. The fountain is beneath the 22 ft. diameter sculptural clock, which was also designed by Fredericks. He chose time as the theme of the auditoriums exterior ornamentation because the donors of the building put great value in punctuality. In keeping with the long tradition on western art, the sculptor personified time with figures representing night and day.
Check out more work by Marshall Fredericks on Michigan in Pictures.
“TUNNEL DISASTER”, photo by uthomie7264.
I got all excited that the 60,000th photo had been added to the Absolute Michigan pool on Flickr, but when I researched it, I found that there’s a terrible tragedy associated with it. The Detroit News relates that the events of December 11th, 1971 that resulted in the deaths of 22 workers.
Construction of the tunnel had begun in the spring of 1968 and was plagued by controversy, mishaps and plan changes from the start. The tunnel was to go five miles under the lake off Port Huron through bedrock to access fresh water for metropolitan Detroit. It was to be capable from the beginning of pumping 400 million gallons of pure drinking water per day to a thirsty Detroit, later expanding to 1.2 billion gallons to meet the demands of a rapidly growing area. The $120-million project was only three weeks from completion at the time of the blast.
“I don’t remember much about the explosion,” said one of the survivors, Richard Green, then 27. “I thought an air line broke, but it pushed the hell out of me. It seemed like a bomb. I was on top of the form (for concrete pouring) and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air.”
You can read more about the Memorial for the 1971 Water Tunnel Explosion from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and more about the sculpture from sculptor Paula Slater’s web site.
Be sure to check this photo out bigger too!
Michigan Library II: Polaris Ring by David Barr, photo by farlane.
Since I’m writing a rant today, I figured I’d use my own photo.
The Freep reports (also Detroit News) that Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is expected to announce the disbanding of the Michigan Department of History, Arts & Libraries (HAL) in her State of the State Address tonight at 7 PM.
There’s no word as to how that would impact the libraries, arts organizations and museums that HAL works with, but one can only imagine that it won’t be good. With universities and schools, the State Fair and other state programs facing deep cuts, you can bet that there will be a lot of hand wringing by the Governor and legislators on both sides of the aisle in the days and months to come.
I just want to say that this crisis has been looming for years and as a person with the job of watching Michigan, I’ve watched our elected officials on all sides worry about their political capital, re-election, counting coup on each other and pretty much doing everything but making the hard choices they needed to make. Now, they will face a mountain of unhappy choices and wonder theatrically what they could have done.
My answer? The jobs we elected them to do…
Michigan public television stations will broadcast the address and the Freep will be streaming the State of the State online and I’ll be somehow or other live blogging it at Absolute Michigan.
The sculpture in front of the Library of Michigan is called Polaris Ring by David Barr. Here is the info about it from their “Visions of Michigan” page.
From Easter Island to Africa, from Greenland to New Guinea — David Barr’s work is displayed worldwide. Specializing in project that employ geographic, geometric and geological elements, his Polaris Ring outside the Center’s main entrance often reminds visitors of a modern-day Stonehenge.
Fifty steel columns encircle a five ton kona dolomite boulder. Smaller stones spinout in a spiral pattern on either side.
”The combination of stone and steel represents the interface of prehistoric imagery with man’s technological imagery and strengths,“ Barr notes. The result is a mystical progression of space and volume that draws people toward the facility.
Based on a universal symbol — Polaris, the North Star — viewers are able to stand behind the sculpture’s center stone and look between the two tallest columns to see the star.
”Instead of having to look at the overall sculpture from the outside, I want people to be able to experience if from inside as well,“ he says.
I hope you get a chance to experience this sculpture and this very cool museum.
Detail from the House that Father Coughlin Built…, photo by “CAVE CANEM”.
As we prepare to leave 2008 at the docks and set sail on 2009, I think there’s probably a lot that we hope to leave behind, and much that we hope to discover in the year to come.
I hope that all of you find what you’re seeking in the year to come and that you have very happy and safe celebrations tonight!
Be sure to view this larger and check out C.C.’s In Through the Out Door set (slideshow).
You can read more about the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak on Wikipedia and the story of the “venom and compassion” of the man behind its construction 1930s radio priest Father Charles E. Coughlin.
Michigan in Pictures 