By Ed McGlinn
A good wall, as they say, will paint itself. And as I looked at this beautiful shape, I saw what it was for.
—Gulley Jimson
No real artist can resist a large blank wall. In Joyce Cary's The Horse's Mouth, Gulley Jimson clandestinely converts a wealthy patron's extensive apartment into a national monument by being unable to walk away from such a beautiful wall (first much to the despair and then, as I remember, to the delight of his patron).
And so it was with Donald Kerr, a Professor of Art at Grand Valley State University. Shortly after the Au Sable Hall opened at the Allendale campus he knew that he absolutely had to do something with the blank space of a wall in the atrium. It bothered him for years before he took the president of the university to the wall and suggested a mural. A year later, President Lubbers suggested he draw up a proposal.
Whereas Gulley's inspiration was feet (yes, the huge painting on his patron's apartment wall was nothing but feet of a beautiful nude model), Kerr's inspiration was the Au Sable River. After more than three years of work, including research on the river, sketches, a rented warehouse, mock-ups, and a small-scale model, the mural was hung last summer and was recently dedicated. It is only ninety-six-feet long and six-feet high. Gulley Jimson would have been proud.
As a story in Forum, the university's newsletter, relates:
The cool, calming colors of the mural bring a serenity to the high-traffic area. "I wanted colors that would `stay on the wall,' so I used quieter tones, like those of Renaissance murals," Kerr said.
Named for the sweeping branches that tangle fishermen's lines, "Sweepers" starts on the south end of the hall with early morning colors, turns toward the gloomier shades of midday and ends with sunset tones.
Donald Kerr has been teaching art for over forty years and has been at Grand Valley since 1970. His art can be found in many public and private collections around the world and he has had numerous exhibitions at museums, universities and galleries.
When you're in Grand Rapids this August for the FFF show you should consider a short trip out to Allendale to view this exceptional work of art. You won't be disappointed. RWOL
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