“Quintessential Ann Arbor!” says A. J. Kydd of December’s I Spy. It’s “the cascading tower of books,” say Silvia Ruiz. The “image features the top of the funkily shaped sculpture,” writes Maggie Schmidt, “across from the Perry Building!”
“‘Arbor Sapientiae’ [a.k.a: Tree of Wisdom or Tree of Knowledge] rests toward the center of Hanover Square Park,” writes Eric Sobocinski, “which oddly enough has been a triangle since about 1900,” when Packard was extended through it. It’s in “the oldest park in the city,” says Amy Thomas. “By far the oldest … having become a park ca. 1860,” writes Susan Wineberg.
The sculpture was “constructed in 1979 by Ronald Bauer in response to a contest for an island that once divided State Street at Liberty,” says Wineberg. It was “commissioned by the Arbor Tomorrow Project,” writes Susan Nolan, “and was funded through a grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts.” “So much graffiti was painted on it,” says Patricia Petiet, “that the city elected to remove it and place it at a little known ‘corner park’ at Packard and Division where it sits today untagged!”
We received thirty-three entries in December–and a fond reminiscence of the late Daryl Kooperman, who welded “Arbor Sapientiae” under Bauer’s direction (see Calls & letters, p. 17). David Karl won our random drawing, and will enjoy his gift certificate at Arbor Farms.
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To enter this month’s contest, use the photo and clue on the Back Page of the January issue and the information at the bottom of the page to submit your answer.