“Beacon Project”
a sculptural workshop project that sends signals across time and space
In 2016, Michigan Legacy Art Park was honored to add Beacon Project to its permanent collection. Artists John DeHoog and Brian Nelson, then instructors at Eastern Michigan University, participated in our artist-in-residence program and created this incredible and mysterious sculpture.
Beacon Project is a the result of a collaborative educational experiment inspired by the idea of combining architecture and sculpture. The form makes reference to lighthouses, water buoys, and smokestacks (elements from our rural and urban Michigan landscape), and uses architectural processes, materials, and principles but for a sculptural end. Viewers can see and appreciate the recognizable elements (foundation, walls, window, drain) and also realize how their unexpected use makes the sculpture work as a whole.
The beginnings of Beacon Project started out with sketches, and a scale model on the themes the class explored. Dimensions were decided and the framework began at the newly renovated EMU Sculpture Studio in Ypsilanti, Michigan, standing 10 feet tall.
After discussion and deliberation, the team settled on a site for the sculpture: nestled into the hill next to the trail and adjacent to the park’s outdoor amphitheater.
The concrete was poured at the base of the sculpture to ensure stability and durability. In addition to concrete footings, a steel base was also installed for additional stabilization.
In addition to the on-site work, DeHoog and Nelson carefully cut and fit cedar siding on the framework at the EMU Parsons Center for Arts and Sciences studio in nearby Lake Ann. Once completed, all the parts were labeled and disassembled to be transported to the Art Park.
On July 14, 2016 the highly motivated group of students helped lift the base (some 300 lbs!) and fit it through the bolts and onto the footings. After the base was set, the group carried the frame up the hill.
It was not easy, but with strength and brute force, the frame was finally fitted through the footing bolts and onto the stainless steel.
Once the group had the sculpture secured in place, they sheathed and reattached the cedar siding.
For two days, the team added the cedar siding and they nailed each board in place with stainless steel nails. Another protective measure was put in place: a drip pan, an architectural element that deliberately splashes rainwater down the angled side of the sculpture.
There is an ongoing mystery about this beacon and a hidden secret that only the artists know. What does this beacon point to? Does it offer a signal or a warning? Does it mark a direction or a place, and why? They’ve kept the secrets to themselves. One thing is certain, X marks the spot of an elegant and beautiful work of art.
Note: “Beacon Project” by artists John DeHoog and Brian Nelson can be seen along the Amphitheater Trail at the nonprofit Michigan Legacy Art Park, a 30-acre outdoor art adventure located in Thompsonville, Michigan. The park is open every day of the year from dawn to dusk. Voluntary admission is $5 per adult, children are always free, and dogs on leash are welcome to join you.
