Creative Cardinals

January 11 – January 27, 2012

Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum exhibits the work of SVSU faculty and staff

The Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum is hosting an exhibition,Creative Cardinals, through Saturday, January 28.

“Many SVSU faculty members and staff are extremely talented outside their normal university responsibilities, and so last August we put out a call for entries for a Creative Cardinals (the cardinal is the SVSU mascot) exhibition at the Museum. We were ecstatic when 28 faculty members and staff submitted more than 50 works of art for the exhibition,” said Marilyn Wheaton, Museum Director.

Paintings, photographs, ceramic work, stained glass, graphic design, poetry, quilts, wood guitar, and Kachina dolls comprise the exhibition. All of the artists are employed by SVSU. See attachment for complete lists of artists and titles.

Craig Snook, Assistant Director of Creative Services in University Communications, entered three paintings in the exhibition.  He said, “The Creative Cardinal exhibition offers SVSU faculty members and staff an opportunity to show others what creative activities they do both inside and outside of their roles at the University. It is amazing to see all the hidden talents this show has exposed. I think this is going to be a popular, annual event!”

This exhibition is made possible by $1,000 contribution from Bill and Sue Vititoe.  Sue is chair of the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum Board of Advisors.

Click to view slideshow.

Having been a fan of Marshall Fredericks for many years I looked forward to the time when I could bring my two children to visit the Marshall Fredericks museum.  While I knew the children would benefit greatly from the trip I was some what apprehensive about taking a hyperactive 3 year old and an inquisitive 5 year old into an environment where there was no running around and no touching.  I had visions of the Saints and Sinners being toppled like dominoes and their college fund being raided to pay back the museum.

Following some warnings and the promise of their first (and only) trip to nearby Chuckee Cheeses if they behaved – we undertook an expedition to the Marshall Fredericks Sculpture museum.  Outside the museum we worked off some energy by climbing on The Boy and the Bear and The Loin and the Mouse.  The view of the museum collection from the Night and Day Fountain really got the kids excited as they saw the scale of the works in doors.

Upon entering the museum I soon realized I had badly underestimated Anna, Tim and Marshall Fredericks.  As I saw the reaction of Anna and Tim to the beautiful collection I was once again struck by the genius of Marshall Fredericks.  They were spell bound from the moment they walked in.  Three things they noted stick out in my mind

-          the accuracy of the figures  “that’s just like us”  Childhood Friends

-          the beauty of the animals

-          the scale of the larger works “how did he do that ?, its huge” Christ on the Cross

Each piece was examined, interpreted, studied and analyzed from all angles.  There was great discussion as to what was the ‘story’ of each sculpture.  What game were the boy and the bear playing?  What was Black Elk doing?   What was the Thinker thinking about?  Why does Byron have his arm like that?

After 30 minutes of great fun and conversation I thought it time to offer another opportunity to play outside.  “Cant we stay with the sculptures a little longer please?” replied my three year old.

I felt my eyes well up as I was again reminded what a wonderful legacy Marshall Fredericks has left to the world, and how fortunate we are to have this collection of his creations available for all to enjoy.  It is truly the sign of an extraordinary artist, he who can create such beautiful art that is lauded by the lofty and yet can be loved and appreciated by a young child.

Thank you MMFSM for a great day out!

From busy mother of 2.

We now have an amazing Flickr site that contains over 2,000 images from events, galas, temporary exhibitions, art camps and more.  Please feel free to visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/marshallfredericks/