Preserving public art

UM-Dearborn Art Curator and Gallery Manager Laura Cotton wants the community to know what they can see at UM-Dearborn just by taking a walk. The university's 15 outdoor art pieces have fascinating artists and histories. Artists behind these works are or were major players in the Detroit art scene, and they have displayed work at the Smithsonian Institution, the Detroit Institute of Arts and at the Olympics.

"A big part of our mission at the gallery is to educate people through art, which includes highlighting and promoting Michigan artists. What better way to do that than to have their talent displayed in such a public way?" says Cotton, noting there's even a work by the legendary Detroit artist Charles McGee. "In addition to seeing the art, we want people on campus to know who was behind these works and what their point of view was when creating them."

For the last six years, Cotton and Museum Registrar Autumn Muir have led student interns in an effort to research further information about each piece. "The sculptures weren't fully cataloged and little information was known. It was a top priority for Autumn and me to shed more light on these highly visible works that we're proud to have as part of the collection," Cotton says. "It's a way to focus on the sculptures while also giving students an engaging experience. Each year, we've provided the opportunity for a new student majoring in art history or museum studies to work as a gallery intern. These interns have dug up elusive information, talked with artists directly, organized and fact checked the information, and compiled the text for future plaques. I'm very impressed with the depth of work they have done." After graduating, these interns - Nicole Gonzales, Brooke Palomba, Morgan Pigott and McKenna Russell - have gone on to museum studies graduate programs and positions at places like the Cranbrook Art Museum and the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Art history major and Sturgis native Julianna Collins - the latest of the interns working on the project - came to UM-Dearborn because she heard about opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience at the Stamelos Galley Center while on a campus tour. "I'm so glad that I chose UM-Dearborn and got this internship. My goal is to become a conservator and I was able to do the behind-the-scenes gallery work as a student," she says. "I love it as much as I hoped I would."

Passing by a circle of tall wooden pieces outside of the Mardigian Library, Collins once thought the wood and iron sculpture represented arrows in the ground. But when learning about artist Robert Piepenburg - whose works have been featured in the Smithsonian - Collins realized "The Dancers" is meant to represent human spirit and movement. The subjects' "choreography" changes based on where the viewer stands. The 1974 art work was donated by William and Electra Stamelos, the gallery's namesakes. "I now know what the artist was thinking when he created it," Collins says. "I have to admit that I still see arrows, but I know now what it represents and that adds to my experience. The sculptures across campus are abstract so everyone can have their own experience with them and see something different. It's part of their beauty and purpose."

During her time as an intern, Collins participated in the gallery and conservation teams' assessment of the condition of the sculptures to determine what will need to be done to shore up and preserve the pieces. She also helped develop a presentation about the sculpture collection that is being utilized by the UM-Dearborn Facilities Operations team to assist with future landscaping plans. The information will also help guide the next intern, who starts this fall and will help finalize informational plaques for the artworks and brainstorm ideas for a self-guided audio tour.