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Detroit Historical Society
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VHS
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Spirit of Detroit
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- Description:
- VHS tape containing the documentary "Sculptor Marshall Fredericks," produced by the City of Southfield's Municipal Cable Division In the film, Fredericks explains his career and explains in detail several of his significant works. The video begins with shots in downtown Detroit and other locations gradually emphasizing the public works of Marshall Fredericks, including the pylons along the Veterans Memorial Building's plaza, the Siberian Ram in the Renaissance Center's Detroit People Mover station, the Henry Ford Memorial, Flying Pterodactyls outside of the Detroit Zoo's Holden Museum of Living Reptiles, and the facade of the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building. Marshall Fredericks himself then first appears to talk about the goals of his work. After a shots of several more works, Frederick is shown overseeing the installation of versions of his Harlequins in the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum sculpture garden. Fredericks then talks about his youth and the beginning of his career, including the influence of Carl Milles, and his time teaching at the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He discusses his service in the Army Corps of Engineers and the Air Force during World War II. He is then shown working on a clay sculpture of Lord Byron in his studio. The first piece he discusses in detail is the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, which he characterizes as his first major job. He talks about the design and meaning of the piece. He then discusses his work on the Veterans Memorial Building's Victory Eagle and exterior pylon relief. This section includes footage from the building's dedication in 1947. A clip from a 1959 television interview introduces a brief segment on the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building. Fredericks also covers his relief Family Protected by Healing Herbs on the side of Royal Oak's Beaumont Hospital. He also talks about the Ford Empire sculpture in the lobby of The Henry and Edsel Ford Memorial Auditorium. In a greenhouse-like studio, he talks about sculpting the Friendly Dragon for the Meijer Gardens beside the work. He shows the study model from which he works and talks about the sculpting process. He discusses designing the work with children in mind and compares it to The Boy and Bear at Northland Center. In a section featuring clips from the 1959 film "The Spirit of Detroit" (2015.007.033), Fredericks discusses the statue's meaning and design, as well as the Norway studio where he worked on it. He then covers his Christ on the Cross, made for the Indian River Catholic Shrine. His explanation of the piece is accompanied by footage from the installation and dedication of the piece. Past footage also accompanies his recount of working on the Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland. Both its 1964 installation and dedication, as well as its 1992 re-dedication following a construction project are shown. In the film's conclusion Fredericks discusses his feelings toward signing his work and about the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. The film ends after a series of shots of several of his works--the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, The Thinker at the Cranbrook Museum of Art, Rackham Memorial Building, the Veterans Memorial Building, the Boy and Bear at Northland Center, Ford Empire in Ford Auditorium, the Lion at the Mouse at Eastland Center, the Spirit of Detroit, Christ on the Cross, the Alvan Macauley Memorial in Elmwood Cemetery, The Gazelle in Southfield Civic Center, the Fountain of Eternal Life, the Friendly Dragon, the Siberian Ram in the People Mover station, Two Bears outside the Sterling Heights Public Library, the Henry Ford Memorial in Dearborn, Flying Pterodactyls at the Detroit Zoo, Family Protected by Healing Herbs at Beaumont, Persephone at the Cranbrook Greek Theatre, the Saints and Sinners Fountain at Oakland University, the McMorran Clock and Fountain in Port Huron, Man and the Expanding University outside the State Department in Washington D.C. and Freedom of the Human Spirit in Birmingham.
- Date Issued:
- 1993-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Detroit Historical Society