Art in Detroit Public Places: Third Edition

by Dennis Alan Nawrocki, David Clements (Photographer)

Overview

Third edition of a favorite guide to major examples of public art in metropolitan Detroit, updated for the first time since 1999.

The Detroit area is home to numerous significant works of public art in its parks, libraries, schools, and hospitals. This new and updated edition of a classic guidebook considers over 150 pieces organized by section into six geographical districts of metropolitan Detroit. Each of these sections is accompanied by a comprehensive street map for easy planning of walking or driving tours, and the artworks in it are presented with individual descriptive histories and photographs. With our artistic and architectural heritage always under threat from new development and sprawl, Art in Detroit Public Places showcases the rich tradition of public art already in our community and also raises awareness of the need for its preservation.

The vast collection of public art in metropolitan Detroit includes works by such important national and international figures as Alexander Calder, Gutzon Borglum, Sam Gilliam, Robert Graham, Carl Milles, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, and Auguste Rodin, as well as fine pieces by many noteworthy area artists. City founders, corporations, commercial developers, and private citizens have all contributed to this rich legacy, and many of the newly built public spaces in the area have been enlivened with artwork in recent years. This new and updated version of Art in Detroit Public Places adds more than thirty works to those considered in the previous edition, including Babcock and Ernstberger’s Monroe and Woodward Monument Markers in the city’s Campus Martius Park and Barr and De Giusti’s Transcending in Hart Plaza.

As downtown Detroit and the surrounding areas continue to evolve and grow, Art in Detroit Public Places serves as a record of public art already in existence and a fitting justification for its protection. Art and architecture enthusiasts, along with anyone interested in the cityscape of Detroit, will enjoy this useful volume.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814333785
Publisher:	Wayne State University Press
Publication date:	08/08/2008
Series:	Great Lakes Books Series
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Dennis Alan Nawrocki is an adjunct professor of art history at the College for Creative Studies and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

David Clements is a professional producer and director of radio, television, and photography. His work also appears in Talking Shops (Wayne State University Press, 2005).

Editorial Reviews

It is believed to be the first such publication to provide a systematic and historically accurate explanation of Detroit's public treasures.

Detroit Free Press

This attractive guidebook to sculpture in public places in Detroit emphasizes the historical background of each piece. The reader not only will be better able to enjoy Detroit but also will gain a better understanding of the city's development.

Michigan History Magazine

Will be of interest not only to students of art, but also to art-loving Michiganians and tourists who will be able to use it as a specialized guide to walking and/or driving tours of the Detroit area.

The Michigan Academician

This newly revised, updated and expanded third edition is the first new edition in nine years and adds many solid landmarks, Art in Detroit Public Places is highly recommended for anyone plotting a trip to Detroit."

Midwest Book Review

"There has always been art in public places. Long before it was made for private consumption and enjoyment, art functioned for societies in very basic and far-reaching ways," writes the author in his introduction to the revised edition of an excellent guide first prepared twenty years ago to the wealth of public art to be found in the Detroit metropolitan area. Nawrocki, professor of art history at the Center for Creative Studies-College of Art and Design in Detroit, notes that from ancient times public works of art sought to teach and to commemorate, as well as to delight the viewer and enhance the environment. Detroit continues the tradition, celebrating its own history and heroes and ethnic diversity, while enriching its urban and suburban surroundings with an infinite variety of works of art.
In 1874, Julius Melchers, Detroit's first sculptor, carved larger-than-life figures of the four French pioneers, Marquette, LaSalle, Cadillac and Richard, who helped establish Michigan Territory and the city of Detroit. Originally installed in niches in the facade of the old, demolished City Hall, they now grace Wayne State University's campus. A gift from the People of Krakow, Poland, to the city of Detroit in 1976, is a bronze cast of General Thaddeus Kosciusko astride a prancing steed. He doffs his hat to motorists and pedestrians in true cavalier fashion. Nearby, set against a white marble semi-circular wall is the Spirit of Detroit. A sixteen-foot high seated bronze figure with arms gracefully outstretched, it projects a sense of welcome. Newly selected for this edition is Sentry, a ten-foot high black and gold mask poised above the main entrance to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Modeled on the mask style of the Bambara people of Mali, the contrasting hues create a dazzling, powerful image. Charming examples of whimsy abound also. Alexander Calder's Jeune Fille et Sa Suite, painted bright red-orange, displays her saucy twenty-ton steel self on a triangular space in front of the Ameritech Building. A children's favorite is Silverbolt, a lively, shiny, chrome-plated horse, fashioned out of automobile bumpers.
Each of the 120 selected art works appears in a photograph accompanied by Nawrocki's lyrical descriptive text. The book has been organized into five geographical sections covering a twenty-mile radius of the City of Detroit. A map is provided for each section showing the location of the works in that area. It is a practical guide, a carefully researched art history textbook and a fresh approach to the heart and history of an important American city-all in one easily portable volume.
—Foreword

A Moore