Twin Turbines

TWIN TURBINES, photo by marsha*morningstar

Art is all around us. Check out Marsha’s photo from Blissfield on black and see more in her ARTSY slideshow.

More art on Michigan in Pictures.

Deco Dance: Leaping Gazelle by Marshall Fredericks

Deco Dance, photo by MichaelinA2

One of Michigan’s most renowned artists was Marshall Fredericks. He’s well known for the Spirit of Detroit sculpture, but this artist who spent much of his life in Michigan created many public works. Wikipedia’s entry for Marshall Fredericks has this to say about Leaping Gazelle:

This sculpture was the first commissioned work for which Marshall Fredericks was paid. In 1936, the sculpture won first prize in a national competition, and as a result, Fredericks became well known as a public sculptor. Since the gazelle is not native to Michigan, Fredericks made four animals that are, and placed them around the gazelle on Belle Isle. These animals are the otter, grouse, hawk and rabbit. Fredericks sculpted the gazelle in a characteristic movement called wheeling, which is when an animal quickly changes direction while being pursued by a predator.

The Leaping Gazelle is one of the most duplicated of Fredericks’s sculptures.

This particular sculpture is located near the entrance of the Detroit Zoo, one of many Fredericks sculptures on the Detroit Zoo grounds.

Also, I’ve been meaning to post a really cool exhibit that’s currently at the Dennos Museum in Traverse City titled Sketches to Sculptures, Rendered Reality: Sixty Years with Marshall M. Fredericks:

An exhibition of 31 small sculptures and 36 related drawings and sketches that showcases the creative process of Fredericks both as designer and sculptor. From simple pencil sketches to presentation drawings, the creative mind of Fredericks is on display as he transforms two-dimensional ideas on paper into three-dimensional sculptures. While many of the drawings in this exhibition resemble the final sculpture they would become, others only hint at elements of their outcome or point to a different outcome entirely. This exhibition is comprised of four genres that represent most of Fredericks’ work: architectural, commemorative, spiritual and whimsical. The exhibition was organized from the collections of the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University.

It includes some very cool maquettes – small, scale models of the finished Fredericks sculptures that are really amazing!

View Michael’s photo on black and see more in his Design, Special Settings, Lifestyle slideshow.

More sculpture on Michigan in Pictures.

Eli & Edy Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University

Art Museum Night, photo by AaronSnyderPhoto

The Eli & Edy Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University opened in early November. The museum features the historical collection from the Kresge Art Museum. They explain that:

This collection, which spans cultural production from ancient Greece and Rome and pre-Columbian cultures through Medieval and Renaissance art to the modern and contemporary will enable the Broad MSU to explore the art of our time through the long lens of art history. Highlights of the museum’s collection include: Greek and Roman antiquities; medieval and Renaissance illuminations; Old Master paintings; 19th century American paintings; 20th century sculpture by artists such as Alexander Calder and Jenny Holzer; and works by contemporary artists such as Chuck Close and Ann Hamilton. Collection growth and new acquisitions will focus on modern and contemporary works (post 1945).

You can search the collection at collections.artmuseum.msu.edu. The museum was designed by architect Zaha Hadid who has a fantastic photo gallery of the latest addition to MSU’s campus. You might also enjoy their virtual tours.

Check this out background big and see more including another angle in Aaron’s MSU Landscape slideshow.

More Michigan museums on Michigan in Pictures!

ArtPrize 2012 Winner: Adonna Khare’s Elephants

Elephants 4, photo by rkramer62

For the second time in 3 years, a large drawing at the Grand Rapids Art Museum has captured top honors in ArtPrize. mLive reports:

Adonna Khare, a week before the Sept. 19 opening of ArtPrize, installed her 8-foot tall, 35-foot wide drawing “Elephants,” on a second-story wall of the museum.

As ArtPrize unfolded, the artist from Burbank, Calif., continued to add daily to the original triptych, spilling over onto the museum walls with additional figures and more details, as thousands of people every day passed through the ArtPrize exhibition center.

“People would come and sit with me,” she said. “Kids would sit with me, and I could share about art.” More than three weeks later, Khare’s drawing has grown to be 14 feet tall, 40 feet wide, and her purse has grown $200,000 richer.

You can see this background big, check out a wider view of the entire piece or watch Rachel’s ArtPrize 2012 slideshow.

More art on Michigan in Pictures.

Lights in the Night over Grand Rapids

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2012: This entry was in the ArtPrize Top Ten entries announced today. 

Lights in the Night, photo by Robby Ryke

Last night the skies of Grand Rapids lit up with 20,000 fire lanterns for the Lights the Night entry in ArtPrize 2012 (ArtPrize and Facebook pages). From everything I can find, it looks to have been an incredible spectacle.

View this on black and definitely (definitely) check out Robby’s HD video from Light the Night which is really tempting me to lift my “no videos” policy on Michigan in Pictures.

You can also see a video from high above of the fire lantern launch at mLive. See more photos from Stacy, BetsyLouWho, Jack, Lisa, Debbie, flickaway, and Kevin and please add links to ones you took or found in the comments!

September’s Full Moon … and lighting the Grand Rapids sky

Downtown Grand Rapids, photo by NightFox Photography

The autumnal equinox happened on Saturday, making the full moon that will rise this Sunday, September 30th the Harvest Moon. It’s also known as the Wine Moon, the Singing Moon (Celtic), Barley Moon (Old English) and the Elk Call Moon.

This weekend the skies of Grand Rapids will host another interesting phenomenon, Lights in the Night. On Friday (Sept 28) this ArtPrize entry will seek to launch thousands of fire lanterns downtown. Get all the details at www.lightsinthenight.org.

Check this out on black and see more in Cory’s Grand Rapids slideshow.

ArtPrize 2012

ARTPRIZE 2011-5780, photo by RichardDemingPhotography

ArtPrize opened yesterday in Grand Rapids and runs through October 7th. Now in its 4th year, ArtPrize is the largest art competition in the world, awarding over a half million in prizes. $360,000 of this is awarded by public vote. If you’ve never experienced a city turned upside down by art, it might be a good idea to plan a trip to Grand Rapids.

This year in an effort to become a more sustainable effort, ArtPrize has added various levels of membership that include perks like priority seating and tickets & receptions to events during ArtPrize and year round.

Check it out bigger and see more in Richard’s massive ArtPrize 2011 slideshow.

Also see past ArtPrize photos on Michigan in Pictures and at absolutemichigan.com/artprize.  mLive’s ArtPrize section is a great resource as well.

Downtown Synagogue of Detroit

An Amassment of Colors, photo by DetroitDerek Photography

The Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (of Detroit) explains that:

The Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (IADS) was established in 1921, at a time when there were many synagogues located in Detroit. Its principal mission was to address the unmet needs of the Jewish community ― particularly for those who worked downtown, were unaffiliated with another synagogue, or were visiting the city―by providing a traditional (Conservative) Jewish presence in the heart of Detroit.

…As much of the Jewish community migrated to suburban Detroit, the IADS―like the city itself―has suffered from a shrinking population and a depletion of resources. In recent years, daily services have, of necessity, been eliminated. However, the Downtown Synagogue proudly continues to offer weekly Sabbath services, as well as High-Holiday services, the latter of which attracts hundreds of worshippers.

The Synagogue is currently housed in a historic four-story building, a building that it has occupied and owned since the early 1960s. Located at 1457 Griswold Street, it is well situated, but is in serious need of major repair. Currently, parts of it are unusable. However, the unique triangular design creates an uncomparable, interesting space. The potential for this building is far from being realized.

This Sunday (August 19), they are offering J-Cycle, a bicycle tour of historic Jewish Detroit. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Back Alley Bike Project, at the Hub of Detroit, a non-profit organization providing cycling education and services with a focus on youth development, sustainable practices and community access.

See Derek’s photo on black and in his massive and amazing Detroit slideshow.

Also see a few more pics from the Absolute Michigan pool.

A Map of the Wind

Breakwall Waves, photo by Gary of the North

The Great Lakes Echo’s Jennifer Kalish has a feature on an animated wind map that’s driven by real-time data.

Two digital artists recently released an animated map illustrating the speed and direction of surface winds across the U.S.

Its ever changing patterns are driven by wind data from the National Digital Forecast Database kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The database also feeds information to the administration’s Great Lakes current map released last month to help the public better understand lake currents.

Click here to see the Wind Map.

Terry Pepper’s Seeing the Light says that the iron pier light is 55 feet tall, and Gary’s photo from Sunday at the breakwall in Grand Marais shows what wind can do to the waves of Lake Superior! See this photo as big as the big lake or jump into his slideshow for a couple more shots of the wave action!

Read more about the Grand Marais Pier Light on Michigan in Pictures.

Happy Gwen Frostic Day!

Gwen Frostic Studio ~ Benzonia, Michigan, photo by Trish P. – K1000 Gal

The Elberta Alert tipped me off last year that in 1978, Michigan Governor William Milliken proclamed May 23 Gwen Frostic Day in Michigan, and in 1986 she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. Their page for Sara Gwendolyn Frostic (Gwen Frostic) who was born in 1906 and passed away in 2001 says:

Author, artist, lecturer, and founder and sole proprietor of Presscraft Papers in Benzonia, Michigan, Gwen Frostic is known throughout the nation for her images of nature and for illustrated books which reflect her indomitable philosophy.

Frostic was born in Sandusky, Michigan and lived in St. Charles before moving to Wyandotte for her high school years. Interested in art from an early age, she used a band saw to create life-size posters for school events, and later studied art education at Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan Universities. During World War II, she worked in a Ford Motor Company bomber plant where she learned production, a skill she put to good use running the 15 Heidelberg presses in her northern Michigan printing and sales establishment. These presses make impressions from her hand-carved linoleum blocks onto paper and the resulting prints found their way into distinctive books, pamphlets, stationery, and other products she designed.

After beginning her business in Wyandotte, Frostic moved to Benzie County in 1955, starting with 40 acres and gradually creating a 285-acre wildlife sanctuary 35 miles southwest of Traverse City. Her commitment to nature and design is reflected in her home, studio, and print shop which draw thousands of visitors each summer.

The photo shows the Gwen Frostic Studio on River Road in Benzie County. The studio was also the artist’s home – click through for hours and such. Here’s a video interview with Gwen Frostic from 1998.

Check the photo out bigger and see more from the studio (including the massive Heidelberg presses used to print her iconic designs in Trish’s Gwen Frostic slideshow.