"What you can do”
More than a question, this simple statement is the title of a sculpture that embodies more than five decades of volunteer contributions at Northwestern Michigan College. Dedicated Wednesday on the campus grounds, the event drew more than 100 attendees, many of them volunteers who work at events such as the NMC Barbecue or at WNMC, the Dennos Museum or the Rogers Observatory.
"Today we recognize the group that makes all the rest of this possible,” said NMC president Tim Nelson. "Basically the number of volunteers who have helped with the college is incalculable. This is an enduring tribute.”
Situated at a juncture of the Tanis and Health/Science buildings on the college's main campus, the nine-foot-tall contemporary sculpture was created by Bob Emser, who is based in a small town near Chicago. Fittingly, volunteers helped Emser install the statue the day before the dedication, taking three and a half hours to put it together.
Veteran volunteers and benefactors Barb and Dudley Smith funded the $40,000 piece.
"I am very pleased and take a great deal of satisfaction to donate this wonderful piece of art to the college to honor past, present and future volunteers,” said Barb Smith, a member of the NMC Foundation board. "Part of it is that NMC shows such appreciation of its volunteers and if you love us being around we just love being a part of NMC.”
Emser sees his sculpture as a metaphor for the volunteer spirit at the college. The two halves, which he noted a viewer's eye will fill in as a circle, represent the community and the college. The connection between the two, physically in the sculpture and in spirit, is the cadre of volunteers, represented in his work by the bright, soaring ochre-colored interior piece. The piece rests on a rounded, two-level cement base, also designed by Emser, that invites sitting or for passers by to come up and touch the sculpture.
"It's not a narrative because it's not telling you a story,” said Emser of his piece. "It's not purely abstract because it's reflecting something.”
Emser was among 30 artists from around the world whose work was considered by a committee after the project began last year. The committee accepted his proposal in January and he visited the campus again to absorb specifics to inspire his final work. He was also allowed to choose the sculpture's home from among a number of sites on campus.
"What you can do” is the 14th of public sculpture scattered on the grounds of NMC's campuses, a commitment to public art that excited Emser from the beginning.
"That's what struck me immediately, the first thing you're welcomed with is art,” recalled Emser of his early visits, where first the museum and then the many outdoor artworks caught his eye. "The existence of art on campus really speaks to that there's an intellectual process going on.”
"I was really, really hoping to get this commission because I really wanted to be a part of your community and I'm really thrilled to be,” he noted.