The Changing Spirit of Detroit. By Mitzi Dube

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Earl Houston
6 years ago
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1 The Changing Spirit of Detroit By Mitzi Dube

Photo courtesy of Kristina Allder: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gallery.photo.net/photo/6470909 lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photo.

2 Photo courtesy of Kristina Allder: lg.jpg&imgrefurl= XZsFvhrnwk7K6NB2Y9lVqlfUi4= &h=1215&w=1800&sz=556&hl=en&start=2&itbs=1&tbnid=ajk_51mn764irm:&tbnh=101&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3fq%3dspirit %2Bof%2Bdetroit%2Bstatue%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 The city of Detroit has a special place in my heart. Born and raised in the city, reluctantly as an adult, I moved into a suburb of Detroit. During my childhood, many afternoons were spent in the heart of the city. On these trips I looked forward to seeing certain familiar sites. My favorite landmark has always been the sublime 26-foot bronze statue on Woodward in front of what used to be called the City County Building. The artifact crafted by Marshall Fredericks is called the Spirit of Detroit. Calling it his civic duty, Fredericks took over a year to cast it. Assuming its post in front of the new county building in 1958, it was the largest cast statue since the Renaissance. Today, the statue has become one of the symbols of Detroit. As a symbol of the city, the artifact is representative of certain ideologies. By examining the past and present meanings of the artifact, we can gain better insight into what the citizens of Detroit identify with. Dube 2

3 To be able to understand how the citizens identify with the Spirit of Detroit, we must first examine the original conception of the artist. Marshall Fredericks made it known that he felt compelled to create this masterpiece for the city. The artist intended to create a sculpture that would have meaning for people and in some way encourage, inspire, and cause happiness. Originally unnamed, Fredericks indentified the artifact by the inscription carved into the stonewall behind the statue. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty is a quote from the 2 Corinthians 3:17 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. This inscription is consistent with Fredericks original purpose of trying to express the spirit of man through the deity and the family. The idea of deity is decoded in the mythological shape of the artifact; the massive muscular structure, the loincloth attire, and the classic mythic facial features are all supportive of the artist s intended meaning. The sun being held up by the artifact alludes to the idea of God controlling the universe. The small bronze statue of the family is representative of the definition of a family during that time period. A popular song from the same time period comes to mind He s Got The Whole World in His Hands by Laurie London. These types of ideologies are also representative of the American Dream to have the Good Life under the watchful, protective eye of God. It was natural to have this sort of viewpoint during the late 1950s. During these post-world War II years, Fredericks ideology was representative of the dominant values and beliefs held by the Detroit society. Understanding the artist s original intent gives insight to the degree to which change has occurred in dominant values of Detroit society. Dube 3

ichilly.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/05/red wings spiritof detroit.

4 Nearly forty years later, the original ideology began to transform reflecting the changing values of the Detroit society. In 1997, when the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, the iconic artifact was dressed in a celebratory Red Wings jersey. The adaptation of the PhotoofRedWingjerseyonmonument courtesyof: wings spiritof detroit.jpg revered image removed the God-like iconic aspect of the artifact and replaced it with the idea of the society being unified through their adoration of a sports team, the Red Wings. Initially, city officials viewed this bricolage as inappropriate and promptly had the jersey removed. After citizen complaints, the Detroit-Wayne Joint PhotoofTigerjerseyonmonumentcourtesy of: _61_102006_Detroit_Statue.jpg Building Authority redressed the monument and the appropriation became accepted. This opened the door for counter-bricolage which embraced the idea of the artifact s ability to create a sense of unity through the admiration of the local sports teams. Now, city workers are responsible for dressing up the monument according to that season s sports team performance. The four major sports teams commonly represented are the Red Wings, the Tigers, the Pistons, and the Lions. The Spirit of Detroit now seems to reflect a changing value from the identification of the spirit of man through deity and family to the identification and solidarity of man through sports and community support. The significance of this change is that before, the Fredericks ideology was a dominant view for society that transcended racial and economic differences. The changes still maintain the same power of unification except that it takes place through the Dube 4

Instead, the sense of togetherness from unification of the common support for the revered team is the value that lingers. PhotoofPistonsjerseyonmonumentcourtesyof: http://detnews.

5 common support of the local sports teams while it still transcends racial and economic boundaries. The dressing up of the monument has so effectively changed the meaning of the artifact that even without wearing a jersey, the artifact s meaning no longer holds the original intended message. Instead, the sense of togetherness from unification of the common support for the revered team is the value that lingers. PhotoofPistonsjerseyonmonumentcourtesyof: olde English D for the Spirit of Detroit PhotoofLionsjerseyonMonumentcourtesyof: By examining these changes in the appearance of the Spirit of Detroit, the changes in the values of Detroit society can be better understood. Though the city s inhabitants may be moving away from the dominant ideologies associated with man, deity, and family, the emerging ideology still unites mankind with a common goal and purpose. Through admiration and support of the local sports teams, the city unites in a new concept of us. The artifact conveys new meanings of what Detroiters are all about. Dube 5

6 Sources FromTheDetroitNews: FromAboutDetroit: 3. FromSaginawValleyStateUniversity 4. Frompopularsources: _61_102006_Detroit_Statue.jpg&imgrefurl= 3019,00.html&usg= y8kagdyilieziak7v5juxthrqvk=&h=240&w=320&sz=14&hl=en&st art=14&itbs=1&tbnid=iox8wlspxezk3m:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3fq%3d spirit%2bof%2bdetroit%2bstatue%26hl%3den%26gbv%3d2%26tbs%3disch:1 7. Dube 6

Homework B: India and Southeast Asia

Name: Due Date: Homework B: India and Southeast Asia Please answer these questions as you read Chapter 3 of your textbook, which deals with Buddhist and Hindu art. There is a brief examination of Islamic