FeedsCouncil approves new public art donation
The newest addition to the public art on display in the Northville community could be only weeks away.
The Northville City Council last week approved the donation of the work, which will be located in the corner of Ford Field near Hutton Street—provided the Van Buren family can provide the artwork with minimal expense to the city.
“He’s not locked in on everything,” said Traci Sincock, director of Northville Parks and Recreation of Patrick Van Buren, who is heading the effort.
The artwork will be called Robert’s Rock and have a gigantic piece of Georgia granite as the centerpiece that will rotate with relatively little applied pressure.
Van Buren said the rock, which will be 11 feet tall and about 4.5 feet wide, would be a memorial in honor of his brother, Robert, who passed away on July 23, 2004.
“We just wanted to create a little spot in Northville where people could sit, reflect and relax,” he said Monday night from California. “We wanted to give something back to the community.”
Van Buren grew up in Northville and his mother still lives there.
The donation has taken a rocky road, so to speak. It was originally proposed for the open space between the library and city hall. A public art committee identified several other places in town, though, and the Ford Field site was eventually chosen.
The composition of the artwork was in question, too, according to Van Buren. When he first investigated the issue on the Internet, he saw plenty of pieces in several different communities. They all had one thing in common, though: they were big and made of metal.
“We wanted to do something unique,” he said. “We all agreed that it would be something simple, but structurally totally different. We wanted to add to the diversity.”
The rock will be shipped up from Georgia, he said. Plans for the transportation of the 15,000 pound rock are already under way. He said he hopes to have it in place by the end of August, when the community will be able to judge it for itself.
