Ortonville- In the Bavarian Alps, there is a lake called Konigsee, created by glaciers during the last ice age.
That lake came to the village on Wednesday, and now hangs on the exterior of the Brandon Township Library in the form of a painting, available to be viewed by all.
The artwork, a reproduction of German Willibald Wex’s ‘Konigsee,? an oil on canvas the painter created around 1873, was the first of eight installations of works from the Detroit Institute of Art’s collection in the village as part of the Inside|Out program.
‘We’re very excited to have a reproduction from the DIA,? said Library Director Rebecca Higgerson. ‘It extends the walls of the DIA to Ortonville and will definitely be a draw… It’s big and bold and I love that you can’t miss it. It really takes your breath away. I can’t wait to see all the other pieces in the village.?
Higgerson was joined by several library staff members who gathered around the painting, hung several feet from the front door of the library. She added that the staff wanted to keep it, and Jason Gumbrecht of LaVanway Sign Co., the DIA contractor which installed the art, asked if she had a checkbook, evoking laughter.
Gumbrecht and Scott Conaway, also a LaVanway employee, were on their way a few minutes later to hang the next masterpiece at Brandon Fire Station #1 on South Street. The painting, ‘Fire in a Haystack,? by Jules Adolphe Aime Louis Breton, a French artist, was originally created in 1856 and is fitting for the building it was placed on, depicting villagers extinguishing a blaze.
‘It looks nice,? said Capt. Dan Flood, who was joined by fellow firefighters Matt Bess and Jerry Wivo in viewing the piece. ‘I think it’s good for the community… I’ve never been to the DIA, I grew up here and we didn’t do that sophisticated stuff. This is a good outreach opportunity for people who don’t get a chance to go down to the DIA.?
The DIA selects 20 communities each year for its Inisde|Out program. Ortonville was one of 10 communities chosen to have art on display from April through July 15.
Each community that is chosen receives between 7-12 pieces to display, depending on size, locations within the community for display and programming planned to coincide with the program.
There are more than 90 pieces of art, all different, that the DIA uses, with the majority reproductions of major paintings. High quality images are taken of the art and a fabricator reproduces the work on vinyl, adhered to an aluminum substrate and set into a real wood art frame treated with a polyurethane coating to make it weather-resistant. The reproductions are kept as close to the authentic piece as possible.
Besides the art at the library and fire hall, those on a hunt for DIA treasures can also find ‘Colonel John Montresor,? by John Singleton Copley at Thompson’s Hardware, 30 South St.; ‘Young Woman with a Violin (St. Cecilia) by Orazio Gentileschi at the Old Mill, 366 Mill St.; ‘Talking Oak,? by William Maw Egley at Kearsley Creek, 365 Mill St.; ‘Drummer Boy,? by Thomas Couture at 449 Mill St.; ‘Portrait of Postman Roulin,? by Vincent van Gogh at the Old Town Hall, 486 Mill St.; and ‘Chevy,? by Edwin Henry Landseer at Crossman Park, 495 Mill St.
For more information or a map, call DDA Executive Director Molly LaLone at 248-627-8070.