DEARBORN, Michigan – Twelve sculptures have been placed throughout Dearborn as part of the community’s 2012-2013 Art in Public Places Midwest Sculpture Initiative (MSI). Funding for the project is provided by the Dearborn Community Fund and the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authorities. Each month a different sculpture and sculptor are highlighted.
Pyramid Gong – photo credit Teresa Lousias
“Pyramid Gong” by Indiana sculptor Beau Bilenki is located on the grounds at the southwest corner of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. The sculpture gives the appearance of a large wind chime with a metallic clapper that moves softly in the breeze to produce a subtle, but distinctive, sound. Ceramic tile and mirror inlays accent the 800 pound sculpture which was fabricated from cement and steel.
Bilenki is intrigued with the properties of cement and tests the material with a piece like “Pyramid Gong” which stands 12 feet high and 4 feet wide. He challenges himself to build large scale outdoor sculptures that are structurally sound, weather proof and yet light in weight. This requires constructing a stable “skeleton” using steel rebar to which he ties galvanized steel lath before finishing with a textured “skin” of common cement. Using this method, Bilenki views himself as a sculptor, welding the frames and a painter, applying the textured cement.
His sculptures have been included in exhibits throughout Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky where he received the Public Award in the Madisonville, Kentucky Outdoor Sculpture Competition in 2011 and a First Place Award in 2010. In addition to Dearborn, Bilenki’s sculptures have been on display in Marshall and Saugatuck, Michigan.
For more information on Dearborn’s 2012-2013 Art in Public Places Midwest Sculpture Initiative, contact
the Dearborn Community Fund office at 313-943-5478. Request an “I SPY Dearborn’s Art in Public
Places” card which depicts the 12 current sculptures and two Pocket of Perception pieces.