By Kevin Howell
Idlewild, a small community in Lake County once famous for its role as an African American lake resort and music venue, will soon be represented at the Michigan Legacy Art Park at Crystal Mountain, a recreational resort bordering northern Manistee County.
A fundraiser called “Building A Sculpture” is underway to raise monies for a sculpture dedicated to Idlewild that will be installed permanently at the 30-acre art park. The nonprofit park combines Michigan art, history and culture in an outdoor setting.
The goal is to raise $40,000 both for the art project and its future maintenance.
Once funding is obtained, Michigan Legacy Art Park will commission Detroit-area artist M. Saffell Gardner to create “Gateway to Black Eden” and will schedule the sculpture’s installation for the latter half of 2023.
“Black Eden,” as it’s called, refers to resort areas established for members of the African American community who were not allowed to join or visit resorts frequented by white people during the period of segregation prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During this time, Idlewild was known as Michigan’s ⸺ and even the Midwest’s ⸺ Black Eden. After the act’s passage and integration, visitation to Idlewild declined as doors formerly closed to African Americans began opening.
The idea for the proposed art installation was generated from recommendations made by the park’s collections committee, according to Angie Quinn, executive director of Michigan Legacy Art Park.
“The art park has as its primary mission … we want people to be inspired by, we want them to become aware (of), we want them to appreciate all things Michigan, and that includes its history, its culture, its art and its environment,” Quinn explained. “That’s been the plan since the park was started in the 1990s. They (the collections committee members) have realized that we did not have as strong a presence about the African American experience in Michigan, nor did we have anything about music.”
She said the fact that Idlewild was close to the art park (within 60 driving miles, per MapQuest) helped influence the committee’s decision.
Having worked with emerging artists from the metropolitan Detroit area, the park’s staff also became familiar with more mature artists.
M. Saffell Gardner was one artist who submitted a proposal for artwork and his was ultimately chosen for the project. In the artist’s biography found on his website, he shared that he holds a B.F.A. and M.F.A. in painting from Wayne State University, exhibits his work internationally and has lectured, taught at the college level and participated in youth arts mentoring programs. The painter, mixed-media artist, muralist and sculptor is also an art historian and curator.
Gardner explained the committee’s idea was to have a sculpture created as a tribute to Idlewild, where night clubs like the Paradise and Flamingo and places to stay like the Casa Blanca Hotel once hosted such great musicians as the Four Tops, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin and more.
Idlewild’s membership included doctors, poets, artists and writers as well as everyday visitors from around the state and Midwest.
For inspiration, Gardner said he visited the Michigan Legacy Art Park at Crystal Mountain before heading to Idlewild, located east of Baldwin.
The art park’s 30 acres include 2-plus miles of trails through some steep wooded hills with more than 30 poetry stones and 50 sculptures installed along the way.
“I … visited the park, looked around, went on some of the trails ⸺ some of those trails are no joke … ,” Garner said, with a chuckle. “I went there to see what the park was, to get a feel for the sculptures in the park, then stayed at a hotel and did some research in Idlewild.
“I wanted to develop a sculpture that would relate to what Idlewild was about and, through my research and my feeling about Idlewild, it was a place where African Americans could come and feel safe, a place where you could feel safe and have peace and relax.
“I think at that time there was no place, because of segregation laws, there was no place for Black people to go to a resort or anything, and some of the doctors and people who had money were able to bring people up (to Idlewild, many from Detroit and Chicago) who were less fortunate, so they could have that same experience, so I developed a couple of ideas.”
Gardner said his vision includes an archway-like sculptural piece with “symbolic things included in the sculpture for feeling safe … that once you passed through, you were in a place of peace and safety.”
He described the proposed sculpture as standing approximately 15 feet high with two towers of what he called totems and a bridge of artwork across the top.
“I have a piece that’s shaped like the front of a ship, which resembles … a slave ship, then I have another piece that’s circular with a hole in it that, to me, communicates sound. I have another part that’s like a sail that’s on top.”
He said the piece of art bridging the totems will be a symbolic shape for royalty, “like a Nigerian type of-a-thing.”
The structure will be made of 3/8-inch welded steel joined at the top with stainless steel bolts and secured with stainless steel-threaded rod to a concrete pad, with a small gap at the bottom for draining rainwater and snowmelt.
Once finished, the sculpture will weigh 1,200-1,500 pounds.
Signage for the sculpture will include a QR code visitors can scan on their devices that will link to music, poetry (spoken word) and a possible video. Jazz bassist and composer Marion Hayden, Gardner’s wife, and award-winning author Melba Joyce Boyd will be working on the new composition to accompany the sculpture. A live performance will also take place after the 2023 late summer or fall installation.
But several steps must be taken before the project is officially commissioned, built and installed. Gardner said he’ll visit the park again and join staff to scout a spot for the sculpture. He also needs to find someone locally to build the cement pad and another person or company with a crane or hoist.
For more information or to donate to the sculpture project, visit: https://michlegacyartpark.org/gateway-to-black-eden/ or michlegacyartpark.org, or call 231-378-4963.
To learn more about M. Saffell Gardner ⸺ who has exhibited his work throughout the U.S., Jamaica, Brazil and Ghana, Africa ⸺ go to: Saffell Art.
For the latest news about the art park’s trails, sculptures, outdoor concerts, art and nature workshops, and programs, sign up for the MLAP newsletter at: michlegacyartpark.org/contact. Michigan Legacy Art Park is located on the grounds of Crystal Mountain resort at 7300 Mountainside Drive, Thompsonville.
Kevin Howell lives in Mason County. He loves the Michigan woods, lakes, people and, especially, Michigan craft beers – not necessarily in that order!
