The Michigan Department of Transportation is seeking the public’s help in selecting 10 Detroit-centric songs that will be part of an upcoming art installation near Wayne State.
MDOT is partnering with California-based Cliff Garten Studio on a “Sounds of Detroit” sculpture and gathering place to be located near the Cass Avenue bridge, which is in the process of being rebuilt over I-94. The piece will contain lines mimicking sound waves that are laser cut from the surface of the screen. Six lines of text – with song titles selected with public input – will roll through the lines of the sound waves.
The installation is part of the agency’s I-94 Modernization Project, which will reconstruct the freeway in Detroit from east of the I-96/I-94 interchange to east of Conner Avenue, including rebuilding more than 70 bridges in poor condition.
The Cass Avenue bridge is expected to reopen in the spring of 2024 and fully completed by the summer, said MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi. Meanwhile, the sculpture and gathering place will be completed sometime next year.
Morosi said the Cass bridge is part of the agency’s “community connector” bridges, designated for pedestrian, non motorized and vehicular traffic. He said MDOT wanted to do something to bring together Midtown and the area south of I-94. The agency put together a public art committee in 2021 headed by public arts administrator Regina Flanagan and representatives from the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University and Art in Motion Ceramic Studio Gallery.
“We put out a call for artists in February of 2022,” Morosi said. “We had 146 artists apply nationally and the committee unanimously selected Cliff Garten.”
Garten has experience in integrating art for bridge projects, such as his American Civil Rights Memorial and the I Am A Man Plaza in Memphis that pays tribute to the 1968 Sanitation Workers Strike and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During two community forums at Carhartt earlier this year, residents decided the sculpture should pay tribute to Detroit music. Songs in the survey include Motown favorites like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?,” Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “I Second That Emotion,” and The Temptations’ “My Girl.” Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin also made the list with songs like “Respect,” “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” and “Get It Right.”
Other songs on the list include Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love,” Red Hot Chili Peppers “If You Want Me To Stay” and The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” Songs in the survey were produced and recorded at the nearby Detroit United Sounds System Recording Studios or by artists native to Detroit.
Voting opens Wednesday and goes until Dec. 10 at survey123.arcgis.com.