While driving down to Ludington this afternoon, I caught a story on NPR on protests in Berwyn, Illinois over plans to remove a public art sculpture to make way for a Walgreen’s. The piece in question, “Spindle” by artist Dustin Shuler, features eight cars impaled on a fifty-foot spike and was highlighted in the movie Wayne’s World. (You can check out the efforts to Save the Spindle here.)

The threat to the Spindle by a proposed Walgreen’s reminded me of a recent post on the Great Lakes Guy blog on a piece of public art on the David Broderick Tower in the City of Detroit that has been covered up with a banner advertising Verizon Wireless. The art underneath the banner is one of artist (and Detroit native) Wyland’s Whaling Walls. As Andy Guy notes, “instead of an interesting and unique piece of public art that engages people in the city, Detroiters now have a 16-stories-tall picture of the “can you hear me now” guy.”

There are obviously a lot of challenges facing our economy. But I have to think it’s a mistake to prefer the safe money of another Walgreen’s or a large advertisement for a wireless company to the sense of community generated by unique public art and a vibrant local art scene. To see what I’m talking about, get to Northport this Thursday for a joint opening from eight local galleries, most of which within easy walking distance of one another – it’s the type of event that defines what makes Northwest Michigan great. At events like this, it doesn’t take long to realize the very real impact – economic and otherwise – that our local artists have on our communities. All the more reason to have this unique perspective better represented at all levels.