As Sterling Heights continues to grow its public art collection, the city has developed an innovative app to guide visitors around its displays.
Art Map uses GIS technology to identify the location of all major pieces of commissioned public art and takes guests on a journey around the city's visual delights. With fall colors starting to set a dramatic backdrop, Metromode’s Joe Powers went on the trail to discover some of the impressive outdoor art around the city.
Burst, the sculpture by prominent Pontiac artist Ray Katz is a composition that expresses rhythm, action, and movement. Originally part of the SterlingScapes III Exhibition (2004 to 2006), Burst was purchased by the Sterling Heights Cultural Commission (now known as the Arts Commission) and the City of Sterling Heights for permanent display in 2006.
Oracle I by Jerome Soble, is an aluminum and stained glass Oracle series and was designed to intrigue the viewer with motion, color, and shape. In the three years since it has been on display, “Oracle I” has become a focal point of the city center and a favorite among children who interact with the whimsical piece by spinning its three glass arms.
Two Bears by Marshall M. Fredericks was commissioned by the Friends of the Sterling Heights Public Library in 1981. Two Bears is a six-foot bronze sculpture of a mother bear and a cub, originally cast in 1964. Fredericks (1908-1998) is known for his figurative sculpture, public memorials, exuberant fountains, and whimsical sculptures of animals. The artist was the recipient of many American and foreign awards and decorations for his artistic and humanitarian achievements and a museum at Saginaw Valley State University, which houses a collection of more than 200 works spanning the length of his career.
Spiral Note by John Piet is inspired by music, which takes a syncopated rhythm in his work. Spiral Note is just one note that leads to another work for the Southfield artist.
Xs & O Mark Beltchenko’s sculpture is part of a series of works that addresses how our past experience tends to cloud our ability to find new meaning in that which is familiar. We have a tendency to see what we have always seen. The Pleasant Ridge artist’s work was originally part of the SterlingScapes II Exhibition (2001 to 2004).
Receiver Material energy and its infinite patterns and fields have provided the foundation for Douglas artist Brian Alexander. Receiver is inspired by light traces and the patterns of amber created in a truck’s rear-view mirror as it vibrates down the road.
For more information on the Art Map app, visit the city's website at www.sterling-heights.net. Media with questions can call Community Relations at (586) 446-2470.
Story featured on Metromode - Kate Roff - secondwavemedia.com/Metromode