One of several cairns on the east side of North Main Street in Ann Arbor, near property owned by Peter Allen. The local developer is proposing a sculpture park in the area, funded through the city's Percent for Art program. (Photo by the writer.)

Part of that time was spent hearing a proposal by local developer Peter Allen, who urged commissioners to consider creating some kind of art walk in the Argo Pond area, possibly installing sculptures and using Percent for Art funds from the recently approved millrace reconstruction project. Two city parks hug Argo Pond – Bandemer on the west and Argo on the east.

Allen cited the Michigan Legacy Art Park at the Crystal Mountain resort as an example of something that could be used as a model, and he offered to explore the possibility of seeking matching private funds for the project.

Art Sculpture Park at Argo?

Peter Allen – a local landlord, real estate developer and adjunct faculty at the University of Michigan – is a frequent attendee at local government meetings. He also serves on the city’s greenbelt advisory commission. But this was his first time attending an AAPAC meeting – it’s relatively rare for anyone to speak during public commentary at these meetings.

He began by telling commissioners that he and his partners own five buildings on North Main, so he takes an interest in that area. He said they’ve built the cairns that are visible from the road, and spend time clearing invasive plants at the nearby Argo Pond.

Recently, he visited the Crystal Mountain resort in northern Michigan – a development that includes golf courses, ski slopes, a spa and housing, as well as the Michigan Legacy Art Park. The area was designed years ago by JJR, he noted – commissioner Cheryl Zuellig currently works for that firm. The art park is located within a pristine woods, Allen said. He passed out brochures from the Michigan Legacy Art Park, which includes a map that described the sculptures and showed their locations within the park.

Allen said he hoped AAPAC would consider something similar for Bandemer Park in Ann Arbor, on the west side of Argo Pond, and Argo Nature Area on the east. The recently approved Argo dam millrace reconstruction could play a role, he said. The city council approved the $1,168,170 project at its Nov. 15, 2010 meeting, and construction is expected to begin this year. As a capital project, its budget would include 1% set aside for public art. The roughly $11,000 could serve as a start for the public art, Allen said, adding that he would be willing to contribute as well, and to help seek matching funds.

He also volunteered to talk with DTE Energy about contributing – the utility company owns about 12 acres of land south of Argo dam, but isn’t using it at this point. Allen noted that the University of Michigan School of Art & Design leases his building at 1250 N. Main that overlooks Argo Pond. It’s used for faculty studio space. They might want to get involved as well, he said.

Another spot in that area that would be suitable for public art is the triangle-shaped piece of land near the US-14 exit onto North Main, Allen said. Having art there would serve as a welcoming entrance to the city, he said.

While having public art installations around Argo Pond and in the North Main area would clearly benefit his buildings, Allen said, he thought it would be a community asset as well.

Commissioners indicated that they’d consider the idea. They asked Allen to write up a summary of his presentation, which they could use as part of a project intake form. Jeff Meyers said the most promising aspect was the possibility of a public/private partnership – it would take a lot more than $11,000 to fund a project like this, he noted.

In a follow-up email to two commissioners and The Chronicle, Allen said that other entities located in the North Main area that might be interested in the project include the Artrain, Huron River Watershed Council, First Martin Corp. and the city of Ann Arbor’s Argo canoe livery.

Updates: Fuller Road Station, Mural Program, Municipal Center

None of AAPAC’s three committees met since the commission’s mid-December meeting, but there were brief updates on some projects.

Fuller Road Station

Connie Brown of AAPAC’s projects committee reported that the Fuller Road Station task force for public art is being formed. She expressed concern about who would be handling the request for proposals (RFP) for the project – she’d been told that the city’s project manager, Dave Dykman, would take care of it. She said it was important to coordinate with AAPAC, like they did with the West Park sculpture installation. [The Fuller Road Station project, which hasn't yet received approval by city council, has set aside $250,000 for public art. The architects of the large parking structure and bus depot – and, possibly, an eventual train station – have already identified locations for the artwork, as well as the kind of art they’d like. The project was discussed in more detail at AAPAC's December 2010 meeting.]

Mural Program

Jeff Meyers reported that the task force for the mural program – which AAPAC approved at its November 2010 meeting – is still being formed. Members so far include Meyers, Connie Pulcipher of the city’s systems planning staff, and Mariah Cherem, the former metro Detroit community manager for Yelp.com. Cherem is returning to school and will have more time for the task force, Meyers reported, adding that she represents a younger demographic.

Meyers said that his original timeline was ambitious, and they’re running a bit behind that schedule. However, he still hopes the task force will convene and identify potential mural sites before AAPAC’s February meeting.

Municipal Center

Margaret Parker, who serves as chair of the municipal center public art task force, reported that they’re ready to develop a request for qualifications (RFQ) for artwork in the lobby of the new building, located at the northeast corner of Huron and Fifth. Venita Harrison, a city management assistant who serves as a liaison for AAPAC to the city’s administration, will put together a draft, Parker said. When that’s ready, the task force will meet again to review it and make a recommendation.

At last month’s meeting, AAPAC voted unanimously to recommend installing the nine-panel, 27-foot-wide mosaic murals by artist Gerome Kamrowski in the atrium area of the building, on the west wall. In total, AAPAC has budgeted $250,000 for public art at the municipal center, above the amount budgeted separately for an outdoor sculpture by Herbert Dreiseitl, which cost nearly $750,000. The funding is allocated from the city’s Percent for Art program.

Parker did not give an update on the Dreiseitl project, or on the costs associated with the other municipal center projects.

Leadership Change: Still No Permanent Chair

Margaret Parker, who had served as AAPAC’s chair since 2004, stepped down from that position last year. However, no other commissioners were willing to take the job, and at their December meeting the group decided to rotate the responsibility of chairing the meetings until a permanent chair is elected. On Tuesday, Marsha Chamberlin filled that role.

Commissioners again discussed the issue. Jeff Meyers speculated that their reticence to become AAPAC’s chair was based in part on the fact that a public art administrator hasn’t yet been hired. That part-time position was previously held by Katherine Talcott, who became a project manager for the city last year. The vacancy is being posted, but it’s unclear how long it will take to fill.

Parker noted that Venita Harrison, a management assistant who works for Sue McCormick – one of the city’s top administrators – is very responsive, and has taken on many of the duties that Talcott used to handle. Cheryl Zuellig noted that while this is true, a public art administrator would be pro-active and take more of a leadership role.

By way of explanation to the commission’s newest member, Malverne Winborne, Chamberlin said that in addition to not having a permanent chair, the position of vice chair is also unfilled, and has been empty for over a year. She also noted that there is still a vacancy on the commission, following the resignation of Jim Curtis. Meyers said he expected that appointment to be made soon, but did not elaborate. [The mayor makes nominations to the city's boards and commissions, and those nominations must be approved by the city council. It's a process that typically plays out over two consecutive council meetings, which occur bi-weekly.]

When Meyers said he wouldn’t even begin to entertain the possibility of being chair until the public art administrator’s job was filled, fellow commissioner Elaine Sims quipped, “I heard a door slightly ajar!” Meyers said he’d consider becoming chair, but not for at least six months.

Chamberlin asked if they could reach consensus on continuing to have a rotating chair – she volunteered for next month as well – while communicating to McCormick that they needed to expedite the hiring process. Other commissioners agreed with that approach.

Commissioners present: Connie Brown, Marsha Chamberlin, Cathy Gendron, Jeff Meyers, Margaret Parker, Elaine Sims, Malverne Winborne, Cheryl Zuellig. Others: Local developer Peter Allen.

Next regular meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 4:30 p.m., 7th floor conference room of the City Center Building, 220 E. Huron St. [confirm date]

A cairn near Argo Pond.

A student stands next to the sculpture-in-progress by William Dennisuk, in the studio of the University of Michigan School of Art & Design. When finished, the piece made of bronze rods will be flipped – its base is at the top of the photo. (Photos by the writer.)

William Dennisuk is still waiting for the state to sign off on a public art installation that could dot a stretch of the Huron River with large vase-like sculptures. As he waits, he spends most of his days in a studio, hoping to complete the project before he returns to Finland later this year.

The Chronicle first met Dennisuk – a visiting artist and lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design – when he came to the October 2009 meeting of the Ann Arbor Park Advisory Commission. He described his project, called Vessels, as a way to bring together the city and campus communities, and to raise awareness about how we interact with the natural world.

When The Chronicle dropped by the art school’s studio recently to get an update on the project, Dennisuk said that working through the required approval process took longer than expected. Also taking longer than projected was working through his own learning curve for some new techniques he’s trying with these sculptures.

Although he had hoped to install his artwork in April, now it looks like late May will be a more realistic goal.

Who Decides? Navigating Red Tape

A native of the Detroit area who now lives and teaches in Finland, Dennisuk has been supported this academic year as a visiting artist by the UM School of Art & Design’s Witt Residency program. In materials submitted to the city’s park advisory commission last year, here’s how he describes his vision:

I would like to see artworks, projects, interventions and performances which illuminate hidden or neglected dimensions of nature, while perhaps also redefining our relationships toward it. While the immediate goal of this project would be to heighten visitors’ experience of the parks and pathways of Ann Arbor, what I am aiming for is a wide‐ranging examination of how our various disciplines can shed light on our relationship with the environment.

In this public art project I would like to see what Robert Irwin defines as a, ‘site‐determined’ approach to the public space. This approach stands in contrast to the sculpture‐park or gallery outof‐doors approach to the public space. In this respect the object or artwork should be considered as only one of the elements within a wider matrix of considerations. In this site‐determined approach each artwork, performance or intervention should evolve out of an intimate dialogue with a particular setting.

This approach to the public space calls for a hands‐on assessment of the various levels in which we move through and experience a particular site: all the tactile or haptic components, the particular historical context, personal memory and emotional layers, how people use the site, the overall social/political atmosphere, as well as the intangible dimensions each site engenders. It is my hope that if this detailed “reading” of the various sites along the Huron River can be conjoined with developments in our respective disciplines we could see the beginning of a new model for engaging the environment; one that arise out of an on‐going dialogue with the world around us.

Last fall, Dennisuk began exploring what kinds of permissions he’d need to install his artwork both on campus and along stretches of the Huron River that run through city parks. Conceived of as a temporary public art project, these large sculptures – standing six or seven feet tall – would appear to hover above the water, affixed to steel bases that would be weighted down in the riverbed with heavy stones. He’s hoping to place the artwork at a location in the river next to Riverside Park, Gallup Park and Nichols Arboretum, plus at two locations on UM’s north campus.

He discovered there’s no single place you can go to get information about doing a public art installation, especially one that crosses multiple jurisdictional boundaries. For the city, he talked with parks staff as well as the park advisory commission, attending PAC meetings in October and November 2009 to explain what he was hoping to do.

William Dennisuk, in a fabrication studio at the UM School of Art & Design.

Dennisuk couldn’t attend PAC’s December 2009 meeting, but two UM staff members came to speak on his behalf: Chrisstina Hamilton, director of visitors programs at the UM School of Art & Design who also oversees the Witt Residency program; and Heather Blatnik, with the university’s environmental permitting program.

Blatnik told PAC that the project needed a permit from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality – because it involved placing artwork in the Huron River. As part of the application process, MDEQ required a signature from the city.

At that meeting, Hamilton and Blatnik also addressed some concerns expressed by PAC members – for example, they explained that UM’s insurance would cover liability.  The commissioners unanimously approved a resolution endorsing the university’s application to the MDEQ for a permit for Dennisuk’s project.

Since then, the MDEQ has merged with the state’s Dept. of Natural Resources – it’s now the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environment. Reached by The Chronicle last week, DNRE spokesperson Linda Jones said that on Feb. 11, 2010, a public notice of the application was posted and sent to public officials in this area, including the Ann Arbor city clerk and the Washtenaw County health department, among others. That triggered a 20-day public comment period, she said, which is required by law for work that’s done in or over Michigan’s inland waters.

When that period passed, Jones said, the application and file were forwarded to the DNRE’s regional office in Jackson, which oversees an area that includes Washtenaw County. The Chronicle hasn’t yet received a response to calls placed to the staff member there who’s handling the permit.

The application cost $500 – Dennisuk said the state agreed to combine the three sites into one application, rather than charging for three separate applications.

Aside from the pieces near the parks, Dennisuk plans to place two similar sculptures on UM’s north campus: In the formal reflecting pool next to the Lurie Engineering Center, and in a pond next to the School of Music. (He hopes to install the reflecting pool sculpture on April 30 – in time for commencement ceremonies and President Obama’s visit to campus.)

For those two pieces, he’s had to navigate a different path to permission. He told The Chronicle that there seems to be several avenues for placing public art.

If the art goes into a building on campus, you need permission from the top administrator. For example, if you wanted to put your work in the Lurie Biomedical Engineering Building, you’d need permission from the dean of the College of Engineering. Plant maintenance supervisors would also have a say.

For artwork on campus grounds, there are several groups that might need to vet a project, including the Dept. of Public Safety (if security needs to be on site during installation), grounds maintenance, the campus External Elements Design Review Committee, and the UM president’s Advisory Committee on Public Art.

Dennisuk is sanguine about the process. The good news, he said, both with the city and the university, is that nobody he’s encountered has been antagonistic about the project. “That’s been encouraging,” he says.

Trying New Techniques: A Learning Curve

Seeking permits hasn’t been the only challenge. Dennisuk points to his own learning curve, as he tries new techniques and materials for these sculptures. For one, he’s been learning to use a new computer numerically controlled (CNC) system to design the artwork – the School of Art & Design has some sophisticated software and equipment, he says.

William Dennison holds copies of computer-generated images of his sculpture designs.

Materials have been a challenge, too. Rather than using iron, as he has in the past, Dennison is making the new pieces out of bronze rods, which he describes as a “very difficult material to work with.” If the metal overheats when it’s being welded, “it will bend in ways you don’t want it to,” he said.

Another complicating factor: Dennisuk’s designs for some of the sculptures in this project are more complex than his usual approach of welding horizontal and vertical bars. Some of the pieces require twisting the metal, a process that takes longer to execute, he said.

It also takes a delicate touch to weld two round rods together. Depending on what angle you’re using, the torch interacts with the metal differently, causing it to flatten or crimp.

That difficulty is in evidence on one of his nearly finished sculptures in a School of Art & Design fabrication studio, located in a building off of Fuller Road. The piece is checkered with small slips of green paper, which Dennisuk explains are used to mark some “lousy” welds. Someone at the school who’s more of an expert in working with bronze will be helping him fix those spots, he said.

Beyond strengthening the welds, Dennisuk plans to sandblast the piece, then apply a patina to give the bronze a slightly greenish cast. The idea is to help it better set into its environment, he says, so that it appears to be emerging more naturally from the river. Bronze would normally develop a patina on its own, but that process would take several years. At this point, the sculptures are planned as temporary installations, to be removed at the end of the summer.

William Dennisuk points to problematic welds on a sculpture he's making that he hopes to eventually place in the Huron River.

Green tags mark problematic welds on a bronze sculpture by William Dennisuk.

A nearly finished bronze sculpture by William Dennisuk, suspended from a wooden frame in a studio at the UM School of Art & Design.

William Dennisuk's rendering of his bronze sculpture as it might appear when installed in the Huron River, next to Riverside Park.

Another rendering by the artist of a bronze sculpture as envisioned in Gallup Park.

Elaine Sims and Jim Curtis of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission at a special meeting on Monday. Sims and Curtis expressed concern about some aspects of Herbert Dreiseitl's revised designs for art in the new municipal center, also know as the police/courts facility. (Photo by the writer.)

The $841,541 budget submitted just last week by Dreiseitl for the three pieces of art – including design fees already paid to him – exceeds AAPAC’s original cap of $750,000 for the project. AAPAC had set aside another $250,000 for other public art projects on the municipal center site, and plans to use part of that amount to pay for Dreiseitl’s project.

Even at the higher cost, Dreiseitl has warned that creating all three pieces for that price will be “challenging” – and some commissioners said they should consider providing more funding, if it’s necessary to achieve his vision. The complete vision was unclear on Monday, however, since AAPAC did not have final drawings for his proposed two interior wall pieces.

Background: The Special Meeting

Only five of the nine commissioners were able to attend the special meeting on Monday evening, which had been called for Friday, Oct. 16. Monday’s meeting, along with one held earlier in the day by a task force on public art for the municipal center, had been organized so that both groups could make recommendations to city council on the Dreiseitl project. Sue McCormick, the city’s director of public services, has asked that recommendations be made by Monday – city council is expected to vote on the project at their Nov. 16 meeting. McCormick told AAPAC that city staff needs a month to prepare for the meeting.

Ken Clein of Quinn Evans Architects, project manager for the Dreiseitl art installations. (Photo by the writer.)

There’s also a sense of urgency as construction of the municipal center moves forward. At Monday’s meeting, Ken Clein – a principal with Quinn Evans Architects, the Ann Arbor firm that’s designing the center and acting as project manager for Dreiseitl’s installations – told commissioners that decisions need to be made about Dreiseitl’s project so that work at the municipal center won’t be delayed.

Parker reported that the task force passed motions recommending all three Dreiseitl pieces, at the budgeted price he submitted: $841,541. They also recommended that AAPAC explore fundraising possibilities to supplement funds for public art at the municipal center, if necessary.

Members of the task force who voted on Monday are Ray Detter of the Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council; Bob Grese, director of Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum; AAPAC chair Margaret Parker; Laura Rubin, executive director of the Huron River Watershed Council; Ann Arbor city councilmember Margie Teall; and Spring Tremaine, a lieutenant with the Ann Arbor Police Department.

The Outdoor Sculpture

The main work proposed by Dreiseitl is an outdoor water sculpture to be located in the municipal center’s main plaza. Here’s a description of the work from a Chronicle report of Dreiseitl’s presentation to city council in July:

The sculpture would consist of a large, upright piece made of two rectangular metal plates standing close together, facing Huron Street. Water would flow down the front piece, which would be concave at the top and transition to a convex shape at the bottom. The water would flow from the top and drain out the back, continuing on toward the building like a river. Tanks connected to the center’s rain garden would store and filter water so it could be circulated through the sculpture repeatedly.

Dreiseitl’s models showed a bridge over the river-like part of the sculpture, as well as a couple of benches alongside it. He explained that he wanted to integrate his work with the surrounding architecture and landscape.

A drawing of what Herbert Dreiseitl's water sculpture would look like upon completion. It would be located in a plaza on the Huron Street side of the new municipal center, next to a planned rain garden.

This piece has a budget of $728,458. The largest line item is $155,000 for lighting and controls, including multiple ground-mounted spotlights and possibly a spotlight attached to the building as well. The sculpture would also incorporate multiple hand-blown blue glass “pearls,” individually lit and programmed to flick off and on in a specific sequence.

Another major line item is for “water technology,” at $125,000. Clein told commissioners that this would include water filters, pipes leading back to the building’s mechanical room, two to three pumps, and possibly a system for treatment of the water, if necessary.

Other line items for the outdoor sculpture include $45,000 for a pre-cast concrete water basin; $15,000 for small stainless steel forms affixed to the sculpture and rotating with the water flow; $85,000 for the sculpture itself, made of “weathering” steel; a base for the sculpture, also made of weathering steel, for $30,000; and $3,000 for the hand-blown glass bulbs.

Commissioner Elaine Sims asked Clein about ways to reduce the cost of certain line items, particularly the cost of lighting. She also wanted to see a more detailed breakdown of costs within that line item. Clein said he’d had several long conversations with Dreiseitl about ways to reduce the cost, particularly for lighting and water technology. Ultimately, Clein said, “We felt it would be better to get this one right, rather than do three that weren’t quite there.”

In addition to the elements of the sculpture itself, the budget includes $23,500 in costs associated with re-doing work in the plaza that’s already been finished. For example, foundations that have been poured will have to be modified to support the sculpture and pre-cast concrete water basin, Clein said. Two tall light poles will be taken out and replaced with multiple light fixtures that are lower to the ground. The budget also includes $24,075 for contingencies.

Dreiseitl’s fees for the outdoor sculpture are $140,670, an amount that includes previously paid design work. The fees will also cover the cost of a three-week trip to Ann Arbor for Dreiseitl and an assistant during the sculpture’s assembly next year. Additional budget items include $26,650 to Quinn Evans Architects for project management and technical support, and $37,800 to Conservation Design Forum for consulting on the project.

Outcome: The commission unanimously approved a motion to recommend that the council accept Dreiseitl’s design and budget for the outdoor water sculpture, with the suggestion that further cost savings be explored.

Margaret Parker, chair of the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission, looks over drawings by Herbert Dreiseitl before the start of a special meeting on Monday night at the City Center Building's 7th floor conference room. (Photo by the writer.)

Indoor Wall Art: Police/Courts Lobby

Because Dreiseitl has revised his design for two interior pieces but hasn’t provided drawings of the newest versions, Margaret Parker – AAPAC’s chair – described to commissioners what those changes would be.

An installation on the lobby wall of the police/courts building – part of the municipal center, located west of the current city hall – was originally designed as a panel of steel, but will now be made of dark blue glass. The piece will be smaller than originally conceived, Parker said. A drawing of the Huron River watershed will be etched into the front of the glass – paint might be added to highlight the watershed etching.

The original design included hand-blown blue glass “pearls” – each one lit – that were to be embedded in the steel, highlighting the watershed etching. But because it’s more difficult (and therefore more expensive) to embed the lights into glass, a material that could easily crack, that approach was abandoned, Parker said. Instead, the blue bulbs would hang from the ceiling at varying levels and be lit from above by lights in the ceiling.

Elaine Sims said she wasn’t happy with the design changes. “It sounds real boring to me,” she said. “The ‘wow’ factor is pssh – the air’s gone out of it.”

Moving from a steel to a glass foundation for the piece was the idea of the building’s architectural team, Clein said. They believed that steel conflicted with the other materials used in the building, which were intended to be lighter and transparent. The sense was that steel conveyed the feeling of a fortress, he said, noting that Dreiseitl immediately agreed.

Sims and other commissioners questioned whether the glass “pearls” could be lit internally. Adding a power cord to each light, as well as programming for their operation, would increase costs significantly, Clein said. But without light, commissioner Cheryl Zuellig said, it would be difficult to tell that the opaque bulbs were blue.

Commissioner Jim Curtis suggested trying to find a way to work the lights into the wall panel, possibly by embedding them into a wood backing, to which the glass panel would be affixed. Clein said one problem would be how to replace the lights when they burned out – there’s no way to access the lights in that configuration. Sims asked if fiber optics might work. Clein said he discussed that with Dreiseitl, but that the artist wasn’t keen on the idea, because of the lower light output. That’s true, Sims said, but it’s would be more interesting than just an etching.

Sims also expressed concern that the hanging bulbs would gather dust.

The total budget for this work is $53,843. That includes $10,000 to make 100 blue glass bulbs, $16,000 for the etching on a blue glass panel, and $7,000 for lighting and controls. Dreiseitl’s fee for this piece is $7,815. Quinn Evans Architects would be paid $7,175.

Outcome: The commission passed a motion, with Elaine Sims dissenting, that recommended city council approve the design and budget for this wall installation, with the condition that Dreiseitl develop a satisfactory lighting solution.

Ken Clein of Quinn Evans Architects holds up some blue glass balls to show how they'd look when hit by light. The balls are part of a proposed art installation at the new municipal center. (Photo by the writer.)

Indoor Wall Art: Larcom Building Atrium

In reporting on design changes to Dreiseitl’s second indoor piece, which would be located on the west wall of the atrium in the Larcom Building, Parker said the wall would be made of white plaster, not the steel originally envisioned. The drawing of plant life, showing root structures as well as above-ground flora, would be done in silver paint.

Clein clarified that the actual wall would be gypsum (drywall), and that a thin layer of plaster would be spread over the wall, except on the parts of the wall with the plant life design. The shallow trough created by the design would be filled in with silver paint. As with the other indoor piece, 100 blue glass bulbs would be suspended from the ceiling.

Elaine Sims and Jim Curtis both expressed concerns over the durability of the material. Clein acknowledged that the drywall and plaster would be susceptible to humidity and temperature changes, due to frequent opening and closing of doors to the building, which will be open 24/7.

Cheryl Zuellig objected to the silver-on-white design, saying that it seemed frivolous and “snowflakey” compared to the earth tones of the originally proposed steel material.

Cathy Gendron wondered whether Dreiseitl could do the drawings on panels that could be suspended from the ceiling or affixed to the wall, rather than make the drawings directly on the wall. But Parker said the beauty of these delicate drawings of plant life was that they would seem to emerge from the building itself, incorporated into the materials of the structure.

The budget for this piece is $47,491, which includes $7,815 in fees for Dreiseitl and $7,175 for Quinn Evans.

Outcome: The commission decided to table this item. They plan to hold an additional meeting, at a date to be determined, to discuss alternatives to this proposal – including the possibility of allocating more funding so that Dreiseitl could modify his design and materials. The meeting would also allow more commissioners to be involved – Cathy Gendron said that some of the commissioners who were absent on Monday were unhappy that they couldn’t be part of the discussion. When they meet again, Cheryl Zuellig asked that Parker review how much funding is still available for public art at the municipal center, and what other projects are being considered there, aside from Dreiseitl.

Present: Jim Curtis, Cathy Gendron, Margaret Parker, Elaine Sims, Cheryl Zuellig. Others: Ken Clein, Katherine Talcott, Jean Borger.

Absent: Connie Brown, Marsha Chamberlin, Jim Kern, Jan Onder.

The Kerrytown Arch by sculptor and UM graduate David Heberling.

Strolling through Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown area, you might notice the large, erratically structured arch standing on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Catherine Street, in the plaza known as Sculpture Park. Whether you’re on the way to the Smoothie King or are searching for place to sit down for a moment at one of the surrounding tables, this cubist entryway merits a closer look.

The Kerrytown Arch was created by University of Michigan graduate David Heberling in 1977. According to “Public Art in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County” by Martha Keller and Michael Curtis, it serves as a “symbolic gate” between the downtown business district and Kerrytown, akin to “triumphal archs” the Romans constructed to mark their conquests in ancient Italy, France, North Africa and Asia.

Modifying the original idea of the arch, Heberling employed the concepts of not just cubism, but also minimalism and modernist abstraction. Made of Cor-Ten steel and painted black, the Arch stands 18 feet high and consists of the usual elements – two vertical supporting legs and a horizontal connecting piece at the top. However, the sculpture’s “legs” are asymmetrical. One of them appears to be made up of several block-like chunks. Similar “ponderous” blocks combine to create the horizontal, connecting component, Keller and Curtis write.

The sculpture stands at the center of a brick plaza on the street corner, circled by metal tables. According to Keller and Curtis, the plaza was designed by Ann Arbor Tomorrow, a citizens’ planning group, and landscape architect Clarence Roy. Workers were employed through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act.

Last year the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission renovated the Arch – a project that cost nearly $30,000. The commission is considering holding a rededication ceremony for the sculpture sometime later this year.

Heberling’s Arch is comparable to the Gateless Gate at Washtenaw Community College, which also serves as a symbolic entrance. However, Keller and Curtis call the area surrounding the Arch more “amiable” that the one around the Gate.

“The plaza is a place to rest for a moment, converse with friends or watch the parade of passerby,” the authors write. “The focal point of the sculpture provides another reason to pause – to enjoy a moment of visual refreshment, to see something unique in the world.”

About the author: Helen Nevius, a student at Eastern Michigan University, is an intern with The Ann Arbor Chronicle. 

Workers installing part of the "Rotations" sculpture on Friday outside the entrance to the UM Hospital. From left: Troco employees Brad Boulch, Tim Trotter, Tony Pacheco, sculptor Doug Hollis, and Troco employee Glen Steiner.

The sculpture by Doug Hollis outside the University of Michigan Hospital is a moving work of art. Literally.

Hollis – an Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan alumnus – described the piece as a “kinetic screen.” Located outside of the hospital’s main entrance, the sculpture is made entirely of stainless steel and contains rotating components that spin in the wind. Hollis explained that wind, water and motion are the main elements of his artistic vocabulary.

The university commissioned the sculpture, called “Rotations,” to honor the memory of the University of Michigan Medical Center transplant team who died when their plane crashed into Lake Michigan in June 2007.

Elaine Sims, director of UM’s Gifts of Art Program, explained in an email that Hollis was selected to create the sculpture by a task force of people from a variety of areas in the university, including the Transplant Department and Survival Flight. They sent out inquiries to organizations that had commissioned similar memorials, seeking guidance and names of sculptors. The task force requested qualifications from six artists and asked for proposals from two finalists out of that group before ultimately selecting Hollis, who now lives in San Francisco. Sims noted that they showed the final proposals to and asked for input from the families of the transplant team members who died in the crash. The entire process of selecting an artist took about one year.

The project cost $100,000, UM Health System Senior Public Relations Representative Margarita Bauza said. The university paid for it using health system funds and donations from the nonprofit community organization Friends (a partner of the health system).

The St. Louis-based construction company Troco started fabricating the sculpture about six weeks ago. They then transported its components to Ann Arbor and began installing it on May 14. A dedication ceremony is planned for June 3.

On Friday afternoon, The Chronicle dropped by as Hollis and several Troco workers were busy fitting the piece together. Hollis stood by a low concrete wall where wavy, perforated sheets of metal – the rotating parts of the sculpture – sat stacked in cardboard boxes.

Doug Hollis cleans what will become the rotating elements of the sculpture. The framework is being installed in the background.

“I thought it was quite a nice site,” Hollis said of his first impression of the location. The sculpture faces the hospital lobby’s windows on one side, the street leading up to the entrance on the other. “But I immediately thought I’d want to do something to screen the road.”

As of Friday afternoon, the sculpture consisted of the curving concrete wall, surrounded by dirt. Flat metal circles dotted the top of the wall. Hollis explained that they’d drilled 2-inch holes in the wall and put in anchor plates to hold up the screen element of his work. Everything would be welded together, he said.

One portion of the screen was already up close to the building. Hollis pointed out the sole rotator already in place in the large steel grid. In the next few days, they would install 599 more to fill the entire screen.

Hollis observed that the sculpture is also close to the helicopter pads, and the air currents created when the aircraft land or take off will set his art in motion. He said this seemed appropriate, given the sculpture’s link to the transplant team and the plane crash that claimed their lives.

As he spoke, the sound of a helicopter’s blades beating the air swelled around the installation site.

“You can feel the breeze,” Hollis remarked, smiling.

Sue Hadden, a University of Michigan registered nurse, stopped to investigate the burgeoning artwork.

“So far, I think it’s kind of cool,” Hadden said. “Visually, it’d be good. It can be very challenging to be an inpatient in the hospital and to have a diversion would be a good thing.”

When she learned why the sculpture was commissioned, she called it a “creative way to memorialize.”

Troco employee Glen Steiner said this is the third piece by Hollis that he’s helped construct during his time with the company. Steiner described Hollis’ work for the hospital as “pretty cool.”

A closeup of one of the rotating elements.

“I’ll be excited to see a nice breeze come and make them all go around,” Steiner said of the spinning parts of the sculpture.

Steiner’s coworker Tony Pacheco, a metal polisher and grinder, said he liked how Hollis was devoting so much attention to his artwork’s installation.

“I think it’s great,” Pacheco said. “I can’t wait until it’s fully done so I can see it.”

Tim Trotter, head of Troco, who was on the site helping with the installation, called the sculpture “awesome.”

“Doug is just an outstanding artist,” Trotter said. “He understands the whole process really well, the fabricating.”

Trotter explained that the parts of the sculpture were cut and formed in his company’s shop in St. Louis according to Hollis’ design.

“We’re really honored to be a part of this,” Trotter said. “Not only to be working with Doug, but on the whole memorial piece and with the university.”

The completed sculpture by Doug Hollis – landscaping is still to come.

About the author: Helen Nevius, a student at Eastern Michigan University, is an intern with The Ann Arbor Chronicle.

A wire sculpture of Jake Woods, better known as Shakey Jake, inside The Peaceable Kingdom at 210 S. Main Street.

Last week The Chronicle reported that Dream On Futon planned to close next month, and during our interview with owner Doreen Collins, she shared some memories from her nearly 15 years as a downtown Ann Arbor retailer. Among those were affectionate recollections – and several photos – of Jake Woods, better known as Shakey Jake.

She asked us if we’d seen the life-size wire sculpture of him. When we returned a blank look and said, “What?!” she filled us in.

First, some background: Jake died in September 2007. Then in his 80s, he’d been a fixture around town for decades, instantly recognizable in his shades, hat, suit and bow tie, often carrying or playing his beat-up guitar. Everyone wanted to say they knew Shakey Jake. He had his own “I Brake for Jake” bumper stickers. Hundreds showed up for his funeral at Muehlig Funeral Chapel, and many brought instruments that afterwards they played joyously in an impromptu parade in his honor.

Many knew of Jake, but few knew him well. Among those few were Collins and Carol Lopez, owner of the Peaceable Kingdom on South Main Street, around the corner from Dream On Futon. Collins wanted to pay tribute to her friend, and proposed to Lopez that they commission Stef Kopka to create a wire sculpture of Jake, just chilling, as he often did, in a white plastic lawn chair.

Kopka is perhaps best known around town for the playful wire sculptures that populate the exterior of Big City Small World Bakery at the corner of Miller and Spring. (Or you might see him around town, twisting bits of wire into shapes as he walks.)

A small wire bird's nest, one of many sculptures by Stef Kopka outside of Big City Small World Bakery at Miller and Spring.

Using an image of Jake from an old Ann Arbor Observer cover, Kopka finished the work last fall – all wire and wire mesh, except for sunglasses and a straw hat. (Lopez told The Chronicle that the hats Jake actually wore had deteriorated to the point of being unusable.)

The original plan was for Wire Jake to split his time between the two shops, starting with the Peaceable Kingdom. Initially, he’d sit outside the store – Lopez said they attached a cable tether to his back as a precaution. But even with that, she feared he’d be too tempting a trophy: “You just don’t want a marauding band of teenagers to nail him.”

So Jake sits inside Peaceable Kingdom, tucked into an alcove at the front of the store. And now, with Dream On Futon closing, Collins said that’s where he’ll stay. She’s glad he’s in a place where there’s lots of activity. Lopez said people like to greet him coming and going – the sculpture captures something about his essence that makes him seem almost animate. (Lopez said that one customer was creeped out by it – and that was just too damn bad.)

So see ya around, Jake – Ann Arbor misses you.

A close-up of wire Jake.

A wire bird sculpture by Stef Kopka hovers over the front door of Big City Small World Bakery.

Three of five pieces that form "Orion," a steel sculpture by Mark di Suvero that was installed Monday in front of the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

The Chronicle understands that art can require heavy lifting, but usually that’s meant in a metaphorical sense. Not so on Monday, when workers hoisted 23,000 pounds of steel sculpture in front of the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s new wing on South State Street.

The work being installed was “Orion” by artist Mark di Suvero. It’s the first of two large outdoor sculptures by di Suvero that will be on long-term loan to UMMA – the second, “Shang,” will go up later in the plaza between the old museum and its new building.

Workers estimated it would take about five hours to put the entire sculpture in place, and they were fighting time as rain threatened in the afternoon. They’d previously made several scouting trips to the location, looking at the layout and how the sculpture would be oriented on the site.

Tim Hill of the Hill Gallery holds a photo and spec sheet for "Orion," showing the assembled sculpture before it was painted orange.

The piece, finished in 2006, has been on exhibit at Chicago’s Millenium Park and came directly from there. It stands 53 feet high, 23 feet 8 inches wide and 20 feet at its base. “Porkchop,” the name of the crane rented from Allingham Crane & Compressor Rentals, hoisted pieces into place, guided by several workers who’d clearly done this before. Though di Suvero wasn’t on hand for this installation – he lives in New York City – his chief assistant, Lowell McKegney, was supervising the job. His Michigan representatives from Hill Gallery in Birmingham were also on site.

Pam Hill, the gallery’s co-owner, told The Chronicle to look for di Suvero’s stylized peace symbol, which is often a signature of his work. And yes, there it was – a piece that looked like it would end up in Orion’s belt.

The structure will rest on large metal plates. Tim Hill told us that if the sculpture becomes part of UMMA’s permanent collection, they’ll return and build a stronger foundation, making sure the piece is perfectly level.

Installation of “Orion” is one sign that UMMA’s $42 million expansion and renovation project is moving closer to its spring 2009 completion. Though the new building is still fenced off, the construction equipment has for the most part disappeared. No official opening date has yet been set, though that’s expected to be announced later this fall.

As for “Orion,” The Chronicle was unable to stay on site long enough to see what was surely a dramatic lifting of the work into place, but we were impressed with the amount of planning and precision required in preparation for that moment. Here’s a sampling of what we saw:

A crane hoists pieces of the sculpture "Orion." The old art museum and its new wing are seen in the background.

Workers bolt two pieces of "Orion" together. Some parts would later be welded into place.

A crane moves one piece of "Orion" into place.

UMMA Director James Steward, far left, talks with Lowell McKegney. who supervised installation, and Tim Hill of Hill Gallery.

A crane named Porkchop.

This guy working the rototiller between Tisch Hall and UMMA was not particularly interested in the art installation.