Man in the City
Man in the City - Public Art Project
Artist: John Sauve
Michigan artist John Sauve has developed an exciting public art project called "Man in the City". The project places 43-inch flat stylized orange metal men on the rooftops of buildings. Sauve explains his goal as follows: "To activate the skyline, and encourage people to look around. In the process of looking and finding, one re-assesses one's own position in the world and becomes aware of one's scale within the very fabric of the city. The 'Man in the City' project creates a metaphor for urban life and all the contradictory associations - alienation, ambition, anonymity, and fame."
"Man in the City" is as much about the sculpture as it is about the people and the locations involved in the project. Each sculpture location is selected based on the architecture of the building upon which the piece has been recommended for installation, the building's significance and the relationship to other sculpture locations in the project.
Installation Locations:
The project will take place with thirty pieces installed in Detroit and five pieces or more installed in Windsor and on display for a two-year time frame.
The two projects running simultaneously will provide opportunities for cross-border exchange of artistic and cultural exchanges and possible programming activities.
Windsor Locations:
- 350 City Hall Square West.
- 400 City Hall Square East.
- Caron Avenue Pumphouse.
Detroit Locations:
Atwater Brewing Company, The Old Shillelagh, UDetroit Cafe, Music Hall, Detroit Opera House, Boll Family YMCA, E.L. King Building, Atlas Building, Supinos, Rocky's Peanut Co., Salt & Cedar, Harry's Detroit Bar, Brooklyn Street Local, Woodward Gardens, The Majestic Theatre, Detroit Artist Market, Canine to 5, Curbed Detroit, Scarab Club, Park Shelton, Woodbridge Pub, Lincoln Street Art Park, Recycle Here, UHaul Building, Kunsthalle Detroit, and the Pioneer Building.
About the Artist
With over 25 years experience in the realm of public art and commissioned art, Mr. Sauve has a large number of pieces that have been commissioned or installed temporarily in Chicago, Birmingham, Tokyo, and Port Huron/Sarnia. Additionally, he was commissioned to do a series of sculptures for the North American International Auto Show.
Sauve has exhibited at the Detroit Opera House, UDetroit Cafe, Governors Island, various locations throughout Chicago, the Motor City Movie House, and in Port Huron/Sarnia.
He has also curated exhibits at the Detroit Institute of the Arts (DIA).
Sauve is also the curator of the Brighton Biennial and has experience in pulling together an impressive collection of large-scale works of art created by sculptors with regional, national and, in some cases, international reputations.
Project Funding
The Sauve Art Foundation has funded this project. The Foundation has an active mission of building communities through public art and has contributed to community arts programming since its inception. The Foundation believes that Public Art programming enriches the lives of everyone and has a direct economic impact on the communities that embrace these projects. Additionally, the Sauve Foundation has developed a children's art education program to address the need for youth engagement in the arts. Sauve has generously offered to provide the program and all support materials free of charge to the Arts Council Windsor & Region and/or Broken City Lab so that they may offer workshops to local Windsor youth.
Community Art in Public Places
Community public art aims to assist communities toward self celebration and self definition, through the expression of a sense of identity and the creation of community consciousness. It encourages active participation from community members while also developing audiences.
Man in the City Flickr CTV Feature - Man in the City The Sauve Art Foundation John Sauve - Artist Website City of Windsor Public Art Windsor Star Article Arts Council Windsor & Region Man in the City - Detroit Man in the City - Detroit Video Capitol Theatre - Windsor Symphony Orchestra Art Gallery of Windsor Phog Lounge