Public Art

There are four of 'em, actually; they decorate the Library in DeForest, Wisconsin. One supposes there's a story....

I'm not entirely certain what this grave marker means . I suspect it's something about rebirth, but the metaphor doesn't quite work for me--I'd like it better if the new growth came out of the ground instead of a planter. Nonetheless, this is a marvelous piece of art that's held up very well for over a century. Meadowbrook Cemetery, Roxand Township, Mulliken, Michigan. Facebook folks tell me this is a Woodmen of the World Women's Auxiliary monument. I claim absolutely no cemetery expertise.

Downtown Kalamazoo, across the street (more or less) from the West Michigan Cancer Center.

Vermontville, Michigan, next to Maple Manor, which is the heart of Vermontville's annual Maple Festival. I imagine the sign's true, though that apostrophe really ought to go. Don't know much about these statues except that they're there.

(Better on black. Press "L".) The new mural, revealed on May 21, in Grand Ledge, Michigan. I don't see that the work has a title, but it was the product of a project named "The Heart and Art of Grand Ledge" and involved the collaboration of a number of GL area residents with the assistance of local artist Tony Hendrick. The painting overlooks the town's tiny ballpark, Fitzgerald Field, which is perched between this building and the Grand River, next to (nominally beneath) the Bridge Street bridge. Thus the ball player in the foreground. Everything else is sort of a history of Grand Ledge along the river: The round building is Mudge's Folly, which was built on Second Island in the 1890s as part of the Seven Islands Resort. It survived into the 1950s. The arched bridge crossed the Grand River--right here--for eight decades beginning in 1910. The still-extent railroad "high" bridge is visible; so's the town's older water tower. Doubtless there are references I've missed, as the painting's just full of detail.

We spent part of Tuesday afternoon wandering around The Village at Grand Traverse Commons (the old State Hospital), in Traverse City. Then we had an excellent supper at Trattoria Stella.

This one has notes that diagram, as best I can, the black & white. In case anyone's curious, I suppose.

Thought I'd give today's black & white daily some context. The local churches commissioned a work from Kalamazoo sculptor Kirk Newman for the reflecting pool in Kalamazoo's downtown common, called Bronson Park. The work consists of sculptures of nine children in naturalistic poses and a perhaps crumbling (or emergent) wall fragment (or something). The installation was dedicated on July 4, 1976, as part of the local bicentennial celebration (I sang in a choir at the event). The work's name is "When justice and mercy prevail, children may safely play." This installation is a challenge to photograph well, as isolating the individual sculptures loses the context, while photographing the whole work loses the detail. Moreover, the sculpture looks very different as you change angles. So I decided, for today's black & white, that I'd find a single child-sculpture that spoke to me, and post a photo of that. Since I moved from Kalamazoo in 1977, my opportunities to view Newman's work have been relatively limited. Nonetheless, I've learned that every viewing is interesting, and that different parts of the work catch my attention at each viewing. It's a delightful work, and I'm pleased I was there when it was made public. If you're interested, there's a nice essay about this work on another website.

One more view.

Vermontville, Michigan, next to the local hardware store. This one's really quite a fine piece. One of these days I'll go back and take some better photographs. Don't know much about these statues except that they're there.

Vermontville, Michigan, next to the fire department. Of course. Don't know much about these statues except that they're there.

Sculpture at the John C. Mackie Welcome Center & Rest Area, Clare, Michigan.

At the Sod House Museum, Gothenburg, Nebraska; 1994.

For some reason I only captured two of Frederick Hart's three soldiers in this 1995 photo. The sponsors of DC's Vietnam war memorial thought the remembrance needed a more-traditional statue, as well as Maya Lin's winning entry. Hart's memorial, Three Soldiers, is fine, but it's overshadowed by Lin's Wall. The Vietnam Women's Memorial, featuring three nurses, seems to rarely get mentioned. Personally, this Vietnam Vet's always thought The Wall was sufficient. But this is excellent work.

At Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor.