New sculptures from four artists add variety to Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Attempting to capture attention from Ann Arbor residents and add another dimension to its gardens, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens is displaying sculptures by artists from the Great Lakes region.

"With the sculptures, we look forward to bringing a new audience from the community," said David Michener, an assistant curator of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The sculptures "will also give visitors another way to enjoy and take advantage of the gardens," Michener said.

The project is a collaborative effort with the Gardens, the University Museum of Art and the University Planner's Office, along with the Great Lakes sculpture community. The attainment and installation of art have been in the works since last fall.

Four artists have each donated a sculpture, which have been deemed appropriate for placement in the natural setting of the Gardens.

The relevance of each sculpture to its immediate surroundings may not be obvious to the observer, but when considered in a broader context, such as the entire Great Lakes region, the relevance of the sculpture stands clear, Michener said.

Tom Phardel, creator of "Arc," a sculpture that has found a temporary home in the Matthaei Wetland, assembled his piece with portions directly relating to his environment.

"The welded steel (in my sculpture) is a direct response to my environment, industrial Detroit," Phardel said. "The stone comes from Grindstone City - once a boomtown when stone was 'king' making industrial grinding wheels."

Phardel believes his audience will see how his artwork naturally compliments its immediate surroundings when they consider the entire Great Lakes region.

Another piece, located at the trail entrance, has a direct visual correlation with nature.

Jim Melberg, the artist of "Forest Murmurs, Two Figures," used cast aluminum to "reflect light, colors and shades of the immediate environment."

"There is a shimmering effect similar to reflected light on the rippling surface of water or light filtering through the forest canopy of leaves," Melberg said.

"Arc," "Forest Murmurs" and most of the other sculptures, will not be permanent fixtures at the Botanical Gardens. But Michener said he hopes the project will be "an ever-changing sweep of sculptures and objects."

The sculptures are part of a loan program, in which contemporary artists from the Great Lakes region will be able to submit their work for eventual display at the Gardens.

A single piece of art has a permanent place at the Gardens. Michener said the Jane Larue Sundial is a memorial to a longtime staff member of the Gardens.

But the Gardens has an admirable ulterior motive in the placement of the sundial.

"The sundial represents a time in which people had greater link to nature, when they could tell time by simply looking at shadows made by the sun," Michener said. "Hopefully, regular visitors to the Gardens will be able to, in a way, recalibrate themselves to nature."

Michener said there are many in opposition to the placement of such pieces in the gardens, since the artwork was not a part of the "original" environment.

"If it is a matter of the idea of only plants occurring naturally, many of the Gardens' plants are from Europe and not the Great Lakes region," Michener said. "However, the sculptures, like the new plants are simply bringing another facet of nature to the surface."

The Matthaei Botanical Gardens are open everyday, from 8 a.m. to sunset.

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