Fourth & William

We are so happy that so many people in Ann Arbor enjoy seeing the whirligig. We enjoy sharing it with all of you. Thank you for all the letters, cards, and phone calls and for stopping by and chatting about it, all in praise and appreciation. Your friends at Muehlig Funeral Chapel… I wonder if folks would like to see another one.

Now that’s real public art.

Kevin: I wouldn’t try to have lightning strike twice. The whirligig is a lovely thing, and maybe the best thing about it was the low-key way it appeared, so that people can have the joy of discovering it serendipitously on their own. To try to redo that success might have the effect of diminishing it. Doing something completely different, though…. At any rate, thanks to the Muehlig folks for the great gift to the city.

Re (3): Amen.

Thanks Rod that’s exactly what I thought but several of the folks that have stopped and chatted about it have asked if we would consider a second one so I was just throwing it out there for a second opinion.

As a neighbor, I can’t overstate what a great neighbor we have in Muehlig Funeral Chapel. Every time I walk or drive past the wind sculpture it makes me smile–reminding me of the good people who work at Muehlig and all the things they do for the neighborhood. I hope it has lifted the spirits of those attending visitations and funerals as much as it has lifted my spirits during difficult times or harsh weather. Like the Cube, this is indeed the epitome of public art. Thank you Kevin, Randy, and everyone at Muehlig!

Re: The Cube

For newish Chronicle readers, I think this 2.5 year old Cube comment (also by Whitaker) reads just as well today as it did back in 2009 [link]:

Walking home from dinner the other night we passed “The Cube” next to the UM Admin. building. My 11-year-old son ran over and gave it a big push, going around and around until he had to stop and rest. I remembered doing the same thing when I first moved to Ann Arbor at age 17, some thirty years ago.

It struck me how perfect this public art piece was for its location: an open, but not particularly busy plaza tucked between campus buildings. It is all-season, interactive, and virtually indestructible. I imagine that UM Plant Operations has to give it a little grease now and then, but probably not much else. No fancy lights, no glass balls, no piping, no water, no pumps or motors. Sustainability is inherent in its simplicity, its durability, and its accessibility. It sits there quietly on point, handsome and still, just waiting for someone to come along and set it into motion. Then its true beauty is revealed as it catches and reflects the light from its irregular faces.

Ha, I read that as “for Jewish Chronicle readers” and had a moment of bewilderment there.

Reading that old thread reminded me that I finally had time to hang out in the new City Hall plaza and experience the Dreisetl piece up close and the whole place, while perfectly nice, reminded me of nothing so much as the old Briarwood fountains. The art is on about the same scale, and the water parts and the spatial layout are very similar. I have to say, to AAPAC I guess, when your best efforts at procuring public art are that reminiscent of the sort of uninspired thing an architectural firm specs out for a mall, your process has failed you.

(Dreiseitl, I mean.)