The sometimes thrilling, sometimes frustrating process of acquiring the 
magnificent piece stimulated Meijer's interest in fine art and led to his 
decision to expand the outdoor collection by creating the separate but 
adjacent sculpture park.

The statue, said to be the largest bronze equine sculpture in the Western 
Hemisphere, was dedicated in October 1999.
=====================================

Art* 
A WORLD OF SCULPTURE IN MICHIGAN

A botanical garden in Grand Rapids adds an adjacent park 
to display an international collection.

By James Prichard
Associated Press
Los Angeles Times 
June 1 2002

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Set among trees, streams, waterfalls, hills and 
meadows, two dozen works by some of the greatest sculptors of the past 
century have a new, natural home in the outdoors of western Michigan.

The 30-acre Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park expands on a botanical 
garden that philanthropist and retailer visualized as a way to showcase the 
sculptures that he collected over the years. Since the original Gardens 
opened in April 1995, more than 1 million visitors have explored its 125 
acres.

Throughout the grounds are more than 100 sculptures, including perhaps the 
most popular attraction: a 24-foot-high prancing stallion by artist Nina 
Akamu based on a design sketched by Leonardo da Vinci. The statue, said to be 
the largest bronze equine sculpture in the Western Hemisphere, was dedicated 
in October 1999. 

The sometimes thrilling, sometimes frustrating process of acquiring the 
magnificent piece stimulated Meijer's interest in fine art and led to his 
decision to expand the outdoor collection by creating the separate but 
adjacent sculpture park.

Meijer, who...operates 153 super-centers that sell groceries and general 
merchandise in five Midwestern states, says he set out to "create the finest 
sculpture park in the world that we can afford."

The new park... initially will feature 24 significant works by Auguste Rodin, 
Henry Moore, Magdalena Abakanowicz and other modern sculptors.

"These are not backyard Sunday artists. These are world-class international 
artists, and they're household names to anybody that knows anything about 
sculpture," says Benbow Bullock, a sculptor from Vallejo, Calif., who runs a 
Web site about the world's sculpture parks.

Visitors should notice a difference between many of the statues found in the 
garden and the works of art installed in the new park. Expect to spend a 
couple of hours strolling the paths that extend from the botanical garden and 
wind through the meticulously landscaped sculpture area.

"What's in the sculpture park is intended to be much more intellectually, 
emotionally, visually challenging," says Joe Becherer, curator of sculpture. 
"I really see it more as an outdoor museum, an open-air museum."

In keeping with the natural beauty of the botanical garden, strict attention 
has been paid to landscaping to ensure that pieces are viewable from several 
vantage points. Each piece is on a spot in the park specifically designed to 
showcase it.

One of the featured artists, Richard Hunt, a Chicagoan with a satellite 
studio in Benton Harbor, says he has never before been involved in a project 
in which so much planning has gone into a site for one of his works.

"It's the first time that I've ever been accommodated that way, with the 
sculpture and the site designed collaboratively," says Hunt.

His 25-foot-high "Column of the Free Spirit" was the first large-scale work 
commissioned for the park. There's a different story behind the acquisition 
of the pieces, which were variously obtained from museums, private 
collectors, foundries or other sources.

In the case of Rodin's "Eve," Frederik Meijer Gardens in late 2000 acquired 
one of 12 statues cast from a plaster model that the artist sculpted in 1881. 
It had been part of a French family's private collection and never publicly 
displayed...

Grand Rapids is no stranger to public modern art. The city made national 
headlines on June 14, 1969, when it dedicated a 4-story-tall abstract stabile 
by Alexander Calder. It was the first sculpture funded by a new public arts 
program of the National Endowment for the Arts.

The bright red, 42-ton sculpture, which consists of several interconnecting 
arched panes, is called "La Grande Vitesse," French for "great swiftness," a 
reference to the Grand River that courses through the heart of Grand Rapids 
on its way to Lake Michigan.

Initially disliked by many residents of the conservative city, it has long 
since become a point of community pride and a must-see sight for many 
out-of-towners.