Comments on: Despite Concerns, The Varsity Moves Ahead

By: john floyd

john floyd — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:32:37 +0000

Mr Derezinski is wrong, The Varsity is in the DDA zone, and any any increase in taxes goes to the DDA, not the city.

As a member of 1st Baptist, I cannot share my pastor’s enthusiasm for this project. To me, it is a form of church desecration.

By: suswhit

suswhit — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:25:52 +0000

I think when you hire a landscape architect you get landscaping not “named” art. Even when it costs a million dollars.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 02:00:07 +0000

Ed’s picture is rather beautiful and I agree about its looking like ash borer galleries. I wonder that the artist doesn’t have a name for it. Does he see its most important features being the water(I understand that he does a lot of water features) or are the other aspects important to him? The lights are starlike and the galleries could be seen as active, not merely ornamentation.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:47:17 +0000

Re: commemoration of ash tree with fountain name [plus German pun]: AschenPuddle

By: Barbara

Barbara — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:34:51 +0000

Re: 2 & 4 Ed Vielmetti posted a picture of the fountain on his flickr, and he mentioned it looks like the remains of an ash tree that was attacked by the emerald ash borer. It does to me too, having lost a beautiful ash to the bug. Perhaps we could have a name that commemorates that?

By: Bob Martel

Bob Martel — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:20:28 +0000

“The project was supported by a paster at the First Baptist Church and the head of the State Street merchant association.”

Paster? Is that the past-tense of Pastor?

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:42:20 +0000

I think the spaces at the new Fifth Ave structure are closer to $70,000 each, based on the $50 million construction cost and the 640 to 717 spaces being built (sources vary on the exact number). Monthly permits run $140 per month. So I think it’s pretty clear that these spaces are being subsidized, at least for monthly permit holders.

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 00:32:27 +0000

Re: [2]

For my part, I see little utility in contemplation of past quarrels concerning various controversies related to this work of art, and would suggest that for the greater good of Ann Arbor we focus on having a fulsome discussion about a potential name that might well be ongoing and unsettled for the better part of the next decade, so that we might eventually arrive at a name that strikes a balance between the need on the one hand to have a handy label, and a desire on the community’s part on the other hand, to convey the elite aesthetic standard to which we aspire. In that context, I would submit that a name striking this delicate balance would be: “Dropsically Blue”

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:42:53 +0000

As I noted in a Stopped Watched, my husband and I made a side trip last night specifically to see the sculpture. Not only was it not turned on for viewing, but tarps were left strewn about the base. Apparently when the formalities were concluded, this art was no longer available for “the public”.

I’m grateful for the gift that University Bank has given us in Ann Arbor in preserving the historic Hoover Mansion and its wonderful setting. How sad it would have been to see that broken up for student housing developments.

By: Stephen Lange Ranzini

Stephen Lange Ranzini — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:05:36 +0000

Regarding the caption on the picture at top, the Chronicle wrote: “Stephen Ranzini looks up at the water sculpture by Herbert Dreiseitl, … It’s not clear what he thought about the sculpture.”

I think it would be fun for the Chronicle to join in the public contest to name the sculpture. Here are some names that various people in town have suggested:

1. “The Hurinal”, a combination of the Huron River and Urinal, for the trench the water trickles down.

2. “The Finger”, a metaphor based on the shape of the vertical plinth, for how the city’s leaders view the citizens by paying $750,000 for the sculpture, but best exemplified by both the “Rog Mahal” and the “Big Dig” where another $100 million was wasted, at a time when the city’s leaders have cut fire and police safety below acceptable levels, and propose to cut even more.

3. “The Shaft”, an apt metaphor, similar to #2.

4. “Temple of Wretched Excess with the World’s Largest Urinal”, David Cahill’s suggestion.

Having seen “it” close up in person now, I vote for #3.

Perhaps others have some additional ideas?