What better way to spend time with a chatty middle-schooler than cruising around downtown Howell in the drizzle, admiring magnificent paintings like drive-by gawkers.
It was wonderful, I admit.
The pieces of art, part of the Detroit Institute’s “Inside Out” program and reproduced to withstand Michigan’s mercurial weather, bring an amazing vibe to Howell’s downtown, which looks like the artsiest place in the world. It’s all decked out for Thursday’s Pink Party with a huge banner featuring Marilyn Monroe (dressed in pink, nonetheless) on The Opera House overseeing it all.
There’s always that ongoing battle over funding for the arts in public education. If anyone doubts the value of art in our lives, I hope they take a stroll through downtown Howell to see the difference it makes. It’s amazing.
My art-loving kid worries the magnificent reproductions might fall prey to vandalization by “hoodlums.” Being the misguided optimist that I am, I trust that the beauty of these pieces will win over the hearts and minds of those who find little value for art in public spaces, and, of course, the hoodlums.
If you want background on the outdoor exhibit, click here and here.
Without further ado, I give you a primer of where the seven pieces visiting Howell will be hanging out this summer:
Carnegie Howell District Library, 314 West Grand River Ave.
Violinist and Young Woman
Edgar Degas
The Opera House, 123 W. Grand River Ave.
Celadon and Amelia
William Hamilton
Yax Jewelers, 102 W. Grand River Ave.
Study for Birds
Albert Moore
Howell’s Western Wear, 121 N. Michigan Ave.
Interior of St. Peter’s, Rome
Giovanni Paolo Panini
Uptown Coffeehouse, 102 E. Grand River Ave.
Café Scene in Paris
Henri Gervex
First National Bank, 101 E. Grand River Ave.
Reeds and Cranes
Suzuki Kiitsu
Dairy Queen, 112 E. Grand River Ave.
Annunciatory Angel
Fra Angelico
