For the eight days that my husband Rich and I were in the United States touring Detroit, Dearborne and Toledo, we stayed in a hotel in the outskirts of Ann Arbor, MI and used that as a base for day trips. It made sense for several reasons. First, we were a bit leery about being in Detroit after dark and could not find a downtown hotel that was both affordable and had secure, onsite parking. Given that Ann Arbor was about halfway between Detroit and Toledo and the Ann Arbor Regent Hotel met our cost and parking criteria with the extra bonus of including daily free breakfast, this seemed like a good option. It also gave us the opportunity to explore Ann Arbor and particularly, yet another art museum.
Having extensively toured the Detroit Institute of Art and the Toledo Museum of Art, in comparison, visiting
University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) was much smaller in scale and scope, but it still had a few interesting exhibits. Another of
Jaume Plensa’s large-scaled sculptures of the head of a young woman is on display outside. Lately, it seems like every art museum that we visit has one. Titled “
Behind the Walls” (2018), this one is unusual in that a pair of hands (cut off at the wrists) cover her face. The building currently housing the art museum was originally designed in 1909 as a war memorial for the university’s fallen alumni who died in the American Civil War, then used as administration offices before officially becoming an institutional art gallery in 1946. Designed in classical styles, Doric columns are found outside while Ionic columns hold up two levels of the oval-shaped inner courtyard/lobby, which is topped by a large skylight. Works of art line the walls of the two levels and a pair of marble sculptures sit on the ground floor including “
Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompei” (1861) by
Randolph Rogers. Given the limited space of the museum, many smaller decorative art pieces are kept in an
Open Storage gallery which features floor-to-ceiling glass shelving containing American, African and Chinese decorative arts, pottery, glass, woodwork, folk art and more.
An interesting exhibit called “
Unsettled History: Legacies of Slavery and Colonialism” displays contemporary creations along side of 17th to 19th Century European and American art to recontextualize these works and their traditional historical narratives. The highlight of the exhibit is
Titus Kaphar’s “Flay (James Madison)” (2019) where Kaphar paints a portrait of American Founding Father James Madison, then shreds the bottom into strips which are folded up and pinned above the work. Most telling are the strips that come out of Madison’s mouth. Usually depicted as a heroic figure, the painting and its mutilation draw attention to Madison’s ownership of hundreds of slaves. Even more provocative is
Tyree Guyton’s “Bird cage (relynching)”, created circa 1980-2010. A paint-splattered metal bird cage stand contains a tattered American flag, and the replica of a human penis hanging upside down and painted black. The art piece references the history of the horrible practice of castrating black men accused of rape before lynching them.
Betye Saar’s “Lullaby” (1999) consists of a framed photo sitting on a wooden serving tray. The photo depicts a black servant caring for three white children while an image of her child sits in the left corner of the matte surrounding the photo. The physical separation of the mother and child in the work and the lyrics around the photo highlight how enslaved mothers are forcibly absent from their families and community.
On display on the second floor of the UMMA are items designed by
Louis Comfort Tiffany, that come from the opulent
home of sugar magnate
Henry O. Havemeyer. The interior view of the massive front doors of the mansion feature honey-coloured wooden frames surrounding ornate copper panels that are imbedded with iridescent
Favrile glass designed by Tiffany, and warm-coloured stones. Even more stunning is the chandelier that once hung in the Havemeyer library. Made from bronze and more Favrile glass, golden half-globes of glass blown from molds are laid out in a circular pattern around a large central globe to form a flower-like design. Ornate metalwork with embedded green baubles surrounds the outer circumference of the
chandelier, which is attached to the ceiling with a beaded central pole. A peacock mosaic was in the entrance hallway of the house over a fireplace. It used a variety of glass including translucent, opaque, gem-cut and cabochon glass to create the pair of
peacocks facing one another with their tail feathers spread out. The peacock is one of Tiffany’s signature motifs. The Favrile glass in a
window panel from the dining room is made with gold, amber and brown glass that forms a scrolling leaf pattern and looks gilded from afar. A translucent fire screen designed with gilt metal and opalescent glass would be backlit when the fireplace was operating, forming a lilac glow. Based on these magnificent pieces, one could only imagine the splendor of the Havemeyer mansion.
German Expressionist artist
Max Pechstein’s set of twelve woodcuts with hand colouring depict the text of the “
Lord’s Prayer” (1921) in German (“Das Vatar Unser”) with accompanying images that look frightening and demonic as opposed to charitable and Christian. Pechstein had a “distinctive style of bold, dark colours, angular forms and emotional intensity”. The image of God is said to be influenced by South Pacific, African or Oceanic sculptures. He created these works just after WWI, when the German society was dealing with war guilt, economic hardship and political unrest. His images reflect the human wretchedness and need for spirituality felt by the German people at that time.
The
Asian Gallery has a poignant sculpture titled “
Apsara Warrior” (2004) by Cambodian artist
Ouk Chim Vichet. The figure is of a woman in an iconic pose from a Cambodian dance tradition, where “aspara” means “celestial dancer”. But looking closer, you can see that the dancer’s form is made from parts of
AK-47 and M-16 rifles taken from former fighters of the Khmer Rouge, a far-left Cambodian Communist party. Pieces of gun barrels, nuts and bolts, cartridges, hammers, levers, magazines, muzzles, and triggers were welded together to create this form. This juxtaposition of a cultural dance with the weapons of violence is jarring. But the dancer’s raised hands are grasping a rifle which she has broken in two, perhaps leading to the hope for future peace.
In addition to the museum, we did a quick walk around
downtown Ann Arbor and as usual, we looked for interesting architecture and signboards. We saw examples of
Art Deco in the
State Theatre, a historic 1942 movie palace designed by C.Howard Crane (who also designed the
iconic Fox Theatre in Detroit), as well as a sign of the former
Ann Arbor Bus Depot, built in the Streamline Moderne style in 1940. Today, only the Art Deco façade and marquee of the former bus terminal remains as the frontage for a Marriott hotel. The
ornate door at 313 Slate St. reminds me of architecture designed by French architect Hector Guimard. We liked to vintage look and atmosphere of the
Fleetwood Diner which was the first sidewalk café in Ann Arbor when it opened as the Dagwood Diner in 1949. There were some cool signboards in front of buildings and restaurants in the downtown area, including
HopCat, a popular craft beer bar and restaurant.
But the most impressive building that we found was the
Michigan Theatre, another historic movie palace that was opened in January 1928 and designed in Lombard Romanesque style. We were initially attracted to the magnificent marquee and the pretty blue and green terracotta pattern on the façade. On a whim, we wandered into the front doors hoping to get a glimpse at the interior and were overwhelmed by what we found. The lobby has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, Romanesque columns, gilded arch decorations, wood paneling, wrought-iron balcony and staircase railings. An original
1927 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ is used for live performances and special events. The Michigan Theatre screens independent films, hosts live stage productions and musical concerts. The Ann Arbor Film Festival and performances by the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra also take place here.
We found some fun shops in the downtown including
BonBonBon (good candy in French?) which sells these delightful handmade chocolates called “Bons” that come in a tiny paper box. Most of these treats consist of a chocolate shell with some sort of flavoured ganache inside, although a few like the lemon comes with a different flavoured shell. We decided to buy six to try, but had the hardest times choosing since they all sounded so good, and all had quirky names. We finally settled on two of the
Cherry Lux (maraschino cherries and dark chocolate ganache) since we both wanted our own, then shared a
Lemon Bar None (shortbread crust, lemon custard ganache, sugar dust);
Coffee and Donuts (dark chocolate shell, coffee and donut ganache, sprinkles);
Hazel-What (Milk Chocolate shell, toasted hazelnut and flaky salt), and
Mustachio (Dark chocolate shell, Moscato caramel and pistachio gianduja). They were all amazing!! At
Cherry Republic, we found Cherry flavoured Hot Fudge sauce and bought two jars to take home. The store was closed but we had fun looking in the window of the
Robot Supply & Repair store, which had signs touting the “Robot Revolution”.
Because our hotel was in Ann Arbor, we also did most of our evening dining in that city and its surrounding areas. One of our first meals was in the neighbouring town of
Ypsilanti at an upscale local restaurant named
Bellflower, which was known for its seafood options. Going along with the restaurant’s strengths, we concentrated on seafood for our meal, starting with
Matiz sardines served with feta, toasted almonds, Castelvetrano olives and freshly baked bread. For our mains, we had the
cornmeal trout filet with mashed potato with green garlic, spring sauteed cabbage, lemon button, and the
Masala catfish fried in beer batter with chili, turmeric, ginger, and milled grits.
We returned to
Bellflower on our last day in Ann Arbor, lured by the promise of Oyster Poboy sandwiches, which I love. Unfortunately, there was no oyster on the menu, so the closest I got was the oyster shell wallpaper in the bathroom. Instead, our choice of grilled sandwiches was either catfish or shrimp. We opted for one of each to share. There did not seem to be much else to see in Ypsilanti, except for the
giant water tower that appeared to be shaped like a phallic symbol! (I’m not imaging, right?). The tower was built in 1890 and was the only supply of water for the town until 1956. A levy of $5 per tap was charged for residences with an extra $2 for a private bath. Saloons were charged $7 for the first tap and $3 for each subsequent. Each cow owned cost another $1 in water fees.
Our first meal in Ann Arbor was at
Gandy Dancer, a trendy restaurant which is situated in the historic
Michigan Central Railway Depot. It was built in 1886 in the Richardson Romanesque style and features stained glass windows, red oak ceilings and French tiled floors. This was a bustling train station until in 1960s when rail travel declined. The restaurant opened in 1970. Artifacts of the train station still remain including a model train, photographs of a railroad crossing and rail tracks, the plaque for Baldwin Locomotive Works 346, as well as a sign indicating the distance from Ann Arbor to Detroit (38miles), Buffalo (289miles) and Chicago (249miles).
We selected this restaurant partly for the cool atmosphere, but the food was quite good as well. Continuing with our seafood theme, we started with
calamari fritti, and then had
Ora King salmon with broccolini and
Mahi Mahi with crab topping and asparagus as mains our mains. Both dishes came with a tasty side of coconut ginger rice. We ordered an extra side of seared scallops which we shared. For dessert, we shared a slice of
key lime pie made from real key limes.
We dined at
Aventura Spanish restaurant where we drank a pitcher of sangria and shared a bunch of tapas. These included the
cod croquettes with potato and pinenut in a lemon aioli;
grilled prawns with garlic, pepper, parsley and olive oil;
seared wild mushrooms with garlic, lemon, truffle oil and parsley;
Brussel spouts with green apple, shallot, crème fraiche, honey and pistachio;
Iberico pork shoulder with sherry, cabbage, spring onion, apple and hazelnut;
crispy potato with salsa brava, garlic, aioli and a fried egg;
tuna tataki with shallot, ginger, chili, sherry vinegar and olive oil. For dessert, we shared
churros with pots of delicious chocolate sauce.
Our next two eateries were chosen more for the quirky dining experiences as opposed any expectations of fine dining. Even the name “
Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burgers” and the logo and imaging of the eatery’s
mascot white polar bear is fun, as is the stuffed polar bear and all the bear imagery that line the walls. During the winter, snow sculptures are made of the beloved mascot. Blimpy Burgers was founded in 1953 by eponymous Jim Shafer but he sold the business in 1969 to Richard Magner who initially worked there as a student. Richard developed the bear mascot because it was easier to draw than a cow. Blimpy Burgers is known for its customizable burgers with numerous unique combinations of toppings such as grilled salami and fried egg, or blue cheese, mushrooms and black olives on a pumpernickel roll, triple burger with provolone cheese, or preset items such as the
Pepper Steak Bullet which consisted of a triple burger on an onion roll with grilled onions, peppers, provolone and bacon ranch sauce. Ordered cafeteria style, the burger joint’s gimmick is its regimental ordering procedure where you are required to answer the questions from the serving staff in strict order: # of patties, kind of bun, grilled items, cheese? Condiments? Do not try to bypass the order or there may be “No burger for you”, ala Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi schtick. Not wanting to make a mistake in the ordering process, I just went for the Pepper Steak Bullet since it sounded great anyways. We also ordered some delicious non-greasy deep-fried vegetables, cherry cola and root beer.
The other over-the-top eatery was
Zingermans, which is also a large specialty grocery store with a deli counter. Zingerman’s is known for its Reuben, smoked meat and corned beef sandwiches and offers free refills at its soda pop fountain which has unique flavours such as Rhubarb Lavendar or Blueberry Acai mineral water, black cherry cream soda, Pomegranate lemonade or Pink Grapefruit soda. Fun paper mache figures, painted bright green with facial features to resemble animated pickles, hang from the ceiling. The online order kiosk shows cartoon images of the meat options that you could select from for your sandwiches.
Bright, vibrant cartoonish drawings line every inch of the walls in the indoor and outdoor seating areas. I especially liked the drawing of the Mama pickle pushing her baby pickle in a stroller while they walk past the State Theatre, which we saw ourselves during our tour of Ann Arbor’s downtown. It was a nice day, so we opted to sit outside near a large colourful mural featuring grinning animals including an octopus, fish, other sea creatures and a cow wearing an underwater scuba oxygen tank. Our grilled sandwiches came with bags of pickles (choice of crunchy or “cucumber”) which all went to Rich, since I don’t like pickles. Instead, I ate more of the bag of chips that we bought to augment our lunch.
Our final restaurant was one of our favourites and we came across it by pure luck. While we were visiting the Henry and Clara Ford House in Dearborn, MI, we had a brief chat with one of the volunteer gardeners who were working on restoring the gardens to their conditions during the Fords’ lifetimes. During our conversation, she recommended that we go to
Miss Kim, a hipster Korean restaurant in Ann Arbor that offers traditional Korean cuisine with a modern twist. We started off with a
French 75 (gin, lemon juice, champagne) cocktail for Rich and a
pear-ginger cider for me. We were given
complimentary kimchee and other pickled vegetables which again, I left mostly for Rich.
We ordered a series of small shareable dishes including
deep-fried smashed potato tossed with chili flakes;
broccolini in an anchovy caramel sauce with cashews and cilantro;
lightly battered Korean fried chicken in chili dry rub with a soy glaze;
potato noodle salad with mixed mushrooms, sauteed seasoned vegetables, sesame and soy; and s
teamed rice mixed with a butter soy sauce. To finish off the meal, we shared a
chocolate rice flour cake with miso caramel topping.
We liked our meal at Miss Kim so much that we returned for a second time to order some items that we agonized over but ultimately passed on, in favour of other dishes the first time. For this second visit, we had the
Korean fried mozzarella cheese balls; baby back pork ribs with a sweet chili glaze, sesame and scallions;
Miso butter asparagus tossed with a soft-boiled egg, cashews, scallions; and a peppery spice and
crispy roasted duck breast with a sweet/vinegary bulgogi sauce served with arugula salad. Miss Kim ended up being one of our more memorable eating experiences. We enjoyed not only the innovative dishes but also the fun décor including bright modern art and whimsical cartoon characters marking the entrances to the restrooms and on the windowsills.
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