The Changing Spirit of Detroit

By Mitzi Dube

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PhotocourtesyofKristinaAllder:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gallery.photo.net/photo/6470909‐lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://photo.net/photodb/photo%3Fphoto_id%3D6470909%26size%3Dlg&usg=__XZsFvhrnwk7K6NB2Y9lVqlfUi4=&h=1215&w=1800&sz=556&hl=en&start=2&itbs=1&tbnid=AJK_51mN764IRM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspirit%2Bof%2Bdetroit%2Bstatue%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

The city of Detroit has a special place in my heart. Born and raised in the city,

reluctantly as an adult, I moved into a suburb of Detroit. During my childhood, many

afternoons were spent in the heart of the city. On these trips I looked forward to seeing

certain familiar sites. My favorite landmark has always been the sublime 26-foot bronze

statue on Woodward in front of what used to be called the City County Building. The

artifact crafted by Marshall Fredericks is called the Spirit of Detroit. Calling it his civic

duty, Fredericks took over a year to cast it. Assuming its post in front of the new county

building in 1958, it was the largest cast statue since the Renaissance. Today, the statue

has become one of the symbols of Detroit. As a symbol of the city, the artifact is

representative of certain ideologies. By examining the past and present meanings of the

artifact, we can gain better insight into what the citizens of Detroit identify with.

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To be able to understand how the citizens identify with the Spirit of Detroit, we must first

examine the original conception of the artist. Marshall Fredericks made it known that he

felt compelled to create this masterpiece for the city. The artist intended to create a

sculpture that would have meaning for people and in some way encourage, inspire, and

cause happiness. Originally unnamed, Fredericks’ indentified the artifact by the

inscription carved into the stonewall behind the statue. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and

where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” is a quote from the 2 Corinthians 3:17 in

the King James Version of the Holy Bible. This inscription is consistent with Fredericks’

original purpose of trying to express the spirit of man through the deity and the family.

The idea of deity is decoded in the mythological shape of the artifact; the massive

muscular structure, the loincloth attire, and the classic mythic facial features are all

supportive of the artist’s intended meaning. The sun being held up by the artifact alludes

to the idea of God controlling the universe. The small bronze statue of the family is

representative of the definition of a family during that time period. A popular song from

the same time period comes to mind He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands by Laurie

London. These types of ideologies are also representative of the American Dream to

have the Good Life under the watchful, protective eye of God. It was natural to have this

sort of viewpoint during the late 1950s. During these post-World War II years,

Fredericks’ ideology was representative of the dominant values and beliefs held by the

Detroit society. Understanding the artist’s original intent gives insight to the degree to

which change has occurred in dominant values of Detroit society.

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Nearly forty years later, the original ideology began to

transform reflecting the changing values of the Detroit

society. In 1997, when the Detroit Red Wings won the

Stanley Cup, the iconic artifact was dressed in a

celebratory Red Wings jersey. The adaptation of the

revered image removed the God-like iconic aspect of the

artifact and replaced it with the idea of the society being

unified through their adoration of a sports team, the Red

Wings. Initially, city officials viewed this bricolage as

inappropriate and promptly had the jersey removed.

After citizen complaints, the Detroit-Wayne Joint

Building Authority redressed the monument and the

appropriation became accepted. This opened the door for

counter-bricolage which embraced the idea of the

artifact’s ability to create a sense of unity through the admiration of the local sports

teams. Now, city workers are responsible for dressing up the monument according to that

season’s sports team performance. The four major sports teams commonly represented

are the Red Wings, the Tigers, the Pistons, and the Lions. The Spirit of Detroit now

seems to reflect a changing value from the identification of the spirit of man through

deity and family to the identification and solidarity of man through sports and community

support. The significance of this change is that before, the Fredericks’ ideology was a

dominant view for society that transcended racial and economic differences. The

changes still maintain the same power of unification except that it takes place through the

PhotoofRedWingjerseyonmonumentcourtesyof:http://www.ichilly.com/wp‐content/uploads/2009/05/red‐wings‐spirit‐of‐detroit.jpg

PhotoofTigerjerseyonmonumentcourtesyof:http://www.foxnews.com/images/232659/0_61_102006_Detroit_Statue.jpg

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common support of the local sports teams while it still transcends racial and economic

boundaries. The dressing up of the monument has so effectively changed the meaning of

the artifact that even without wearing a jersey, the artifact’s meaning no longer holds the

original intended message. Instead, the sense of togetherness from unification of the

common support for the revered team is the value that lingers.

PhotoofPistonsjerseyonmonumentcourtesyof:

http://detnews.com/article/20061011/METRO/610110402/No‐olde‐English‐D‐for‐the‐Spirit‐of‐Detroit

PhotoofLionsjerseyonMonumentcourtesyof:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mucci/106488182/

By examining these changes in the appearance of the Spirit of Detroit, the changes in the

values of Detroit society can be better understood. Though the city’s inhabitants may be

moving away from the dominant ideologies associated with man, deity, and family, the

emerging ideology still unites mankind with a common goal and purpose. Through

admiration and support of the local sports teams, the city unites in a new concept of “us”.

The artifact conveys new meanings of what Detroiters are all about.

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Sources FromTheDetroitNews:1. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=159#ixzz0iZ7ycQu32. http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=159#ixzz0iZ5obGzlFromAboutDetroit:3. http://detroit.about.com/od/architecturelandmarks/p/spiritofdetroit.htmFromSaginawValleyStateUniversity4. http://www.svsu.edu/mfsm/home.htmlFrompopularsources:5. http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/05/spirit_of_detroit_to_wear_red.html6.http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.foxnews.com/images/232659/0_61_102006_Detroit_Statue.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,223019,00.html&usg=__y8kagdyilieZiAK7v5JUXtHRqvk=&h=240&w=320&sz=14&hl=en&start=14&itbs=1&tbnid=iOX8WlSPxezk3M:&tbnh=89&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dspirit%2Bof%2Bdetroit%2Bstatue%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1 7.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_Destiny