Public Art of the Week

Public art in Lansing keeps rolling like a river. Two recent public art installations were recently added to the city’s growing number of spectacular visions of art in the city. Muralist Brian Whitfield recently finished his mural at the Brenke Fish Ladder in time for the grand opening of the Fish Ladder Music Park just south of Old Town on the banks of the Grand River.

Whitfield’s depiction of jamming fish and turtles adds a colorful touch to once drab fish ladder which was constructed in 1981 to allow salmon to migrate upstream.

When Whitfield began the project he thought he would be able to complete the project using  a crane but soon learned it was too cumbersome to use in the odd configuration so he turned to rope rigging to move around on the uneven surfaces.

The modernization of the area is part of a long-term plan by the Community Foundation of Greater Lansing which focuses on creating a dynamic riverfront where people will gather for community events.  So far the Foundation has helped transform Rotary Park adjacent to the Lansing Center and construct Play Michigan!, a playground that features accessible features which is on the corner of Grand Ave and Saginaw.

Even if you are not sick it’s worth a visit to University of Michigan Sparrow where local glass artist and sculpture Craig Mitchell Smith recently installed a massive glass sculpture in the lobby of the UM-Sparrow Professional Building in the complex on Michigan Ave. The floral installation called “A Moment’s Pause” features 30 glass leaves and 30 flowers. Previously, Smith installed a large sculpture in the Herbert Hermann Cancer Center on Michigan Ave., which is hung from the ceiling of the lobby. The piece “Lifted” is constructed with more than 100 iridescent pieces of wavy glass.

 

Public Art of the Week rotates with Eyesore of the Week. If you have an idea for either, please email eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call (517) 999-6704.