MUSKEGON, Mich. — A collection of sizable handmade stones has appeared in trees in a downtown park in the western Michigan community of Muskegon.
It's a new art installation by Andy Moerlein that was recently announced by the Muskegon Museum of Art, The Muskegon Chronicle reported. Titled "IMPOSSIBLE," the stones gracing Hackley Park's trees will remain through April 2017.
In an email, Moerlein said the city "has seen many shifts of fortune through the years, but lately there is a new optimism and vitality of spirit."
The core of each piece is lightweight but the coating is strong, the newspaper said. The outsides are painted. Each installation is specific to its location. There are more than a dozen stones placed around Hackley Park and two at the museum's entrance.
"Each handmade stone very much a painting," Moerlein wrote. "I hope for an accurate impression, but also want to reveal my hand. My aim is that at first glance they are breath stopping authentic, but upon inspection the painterly effort is evident."
Moerlein also created Avian Avatars, a series of five bird-like sculptures that have been in the city's downtown since April 2015.
