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A Visit with Marshall Fredericks
by
Hal Arman

The Fredrickson Sculpture Gallery at Saginaw State University is a treasure for the State of Michigan.  People who go through the gallery are amazed at the skills and perception of the sculptor.  For those who never had a chance to meet and know Fredrickson, they must assume that he was just another artist, with beliefs and values that defy modern day interpretations.  They would be seriously wrong. This brief description of Marshal Fredrickson is based, in part, on printed critiques of his work and personal history, visits to sculpture gardens in other locations that feature his work, and an enlightened evening with him at the annual banquet of the Saginaw Valley Torch Club at which he spoke.  In order to put his words into the proper context, it is necessary to say something about the artist, and then about the group at which he appeared and spoke. Fredrickson was born in Illinois and grew up in Ohio until the 1930’s   His work was influenced by Carl Milles, his teacher and a much earlier sculptor: Auguste Rodin.  Fredrickson came to the Detroit area to work, teach and live for the remainder of his life.  As his fame as a sculptor grew beyond the confines of Detroit, Michigan and the Midwest, he was commissioned to build a public fountain in Cleveland which has now, sadly, fallen into disrepair.  His work is on display at Belle Isle, the Brookgreen Sculpture Garden outside of Myrtle Beach South Carolina and at the sculpture garden built by Henrik Meijer in Grand Rapids.  Perhaps his best known work is the nude statue of a man holding up the earth, called the Spirit of Detroit in front of a governmental building in downtown Detroit. He is also well known for a very large crucifix on a hill at Indian River, Michigan (near Petoskey).  Throughout his life he was an ardent student and fan of his ancestral home in Denmark.  The Danish Government took the unusual step, when he was alive, of designating him as Ambassador to Michigan from Denmark. Throughout his life he was an excellent teacher who made a lasting impression on his students.  It was through the efforts of some of his students that the Gallery at SVSU was built. The Saginaw Valley Torch Club is an unusual civic group.  Comprised of business and professional people, roughly equal in number from the three counties of Bay, Saginaw, and Midland, it meets once a month, fall through spring.  The group gathers in the comfortable quarters of the Saginaw Club for a drink and conversation, followed by a nice supper.  Many conversations about ideas and concepts important to the future of the Tri-Counties started over dinner at ‘Torch’.  Following dinner, members adjourn to a large semi-formal sitting area and a pre-arranged member of the Club reads a prepared paper on a subject that they know something about.  The range of topics is as wide as the membership of the Club.  Following the presentation, the Speaker is expected to answer questions from the audience.  The membership contains several lawyers who often ask pointed questions.  It is not unusual for other members of the audience to have a professional or personal knowledge of the topic and they often ask difficult questions that force the Speaker to engage in verbal gymnastics to emerge with his professional or personal thoughts intact.  The single exception to the standard evening’s format is in the spring, the last meeting of the year devoted to a musical group or speaker who is thought to appeal to both the regular members and their spouses.  It was on such an evening in 1985 that Marshal Fredrickson spoke to the Saginaw Valley Torch Club and we were honored to be in his presence. Fredrickson began his presentation with a mechanical description of the steps that must be taken to move an idea along to a finished iron or copper sculpture.   He impressed upon the group that sculpting is a difficult and time consuming task.  He talked about the various pieces he had created, particularly those that are now in other states and thus the audience might not be familiar with them. 

 

Members were not prepared for Fredrickson to conclude his remarks by saying that he often was approached with the dimensions of a place where his finished sculpture was to be placed, or a general description of the theme that he was to incorporate into a sculpture.  Taking those simple directions, he created a sculpture that fit beautifully into the place it was designated to reside.  What made his comments so noteworthy and humble was that he genuinely seemed to think that any one of us, faced with the same physical location, space or themes, would have also created a similar work of art and beauty.  He was so totally unimpressed with his own talent that he assumed that everyone could do what he did, if they just had the opportunity.  Members of Torch, as a matter of standard procedure, are prepared to question closely each speaker to appear before them.  For some members, asking tough questions is something they do every day in their profession.  Members were so impressed with the humility of Fredrickson that no one questioned his basic thesis.  Many Torch Club members walked away from the evening with admiration for the talent and philosophy of Fredrickson, but also the smallest notion that they could, if given a chance, be as creative and imaginative as Fredrickson thought they could be.  There is no way to know how many members of Torch, once they got home that evening, got out a blank page of paper, a block of wood, or a color palette and took a few brush strokes that may yet lead to fame and fortune.
 
The written and visual works in Mid-Michigan Remembers-Stories about Us were chosen on the basis of their quality, diversity, community interest and appeal. Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the College. This space is provided as a service by Delta College.