Frauenthal gift expression of love for Muskegon

July 14, 2007
By Clayton Hardiman
Muskegon Chronicle

The special place for art that Muskegon holds in its heart is visible now for everyone to see.

“The Gift of Art,” a stainless steel relief sculpture above the exterior doors of the Frauenthal Theater, was unveiled Friday afternoon before an applauding crowd of about 100.

The sculpture was a gift to the community from John Schrier, his wife, Ruth, and their son Mark, to observe a century of operation for the family company, the Muskegon Insurance Agency, in downtown Muskegon.

Sherri Balaskovitz, the North Muskegon artist commissioned for the sculpture’s creation and design, called it “truly a dream come true.”

Balaskovitz conceived the piece as a musical measure. But instead of music notes between the bar lines, she included symbols for various art forms: a treble clef, a pair of ballet slippers, the classic masks of tragedy and comedy, and a violin. It concludes with a musical repeat sign.

“The treble clef symbolizes that we know we belong here, and the repeat symbol is to let all know that we want everyone to come here again,” Balaskovitz said.

Mark Schrier, president of the Muskegon Insurance Agency, spoke of the decision he and his father, John Schrier, reached about how to best commemorate their company’s centennial.

“We decided we wanted to do something more permanent than a one-day celebration,” Mark Schrier told the crowd. “We wanted to do something that would last.”

Balaskovitz admitted to similar motives. She said words of Chris McGuigan, president of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, “kept ringing in my head: ‘We need to build a downtown that will last for the next 100 years, 200 years, and make it something that will want to be kept for even more centuries to come.’

“And all I could think of was stainless steel, baby.”

After the ceremony, members of the crowd, scattered along the curve of curb at Third Street and Western Avenue, oohed and aahed their approval.

“Very cool,” commented Tim Achterhoff, vice president of RC Productions.

“It’s so appropriate that it faces the traffic circle,” Muskegon City Commissioner Sue Wierengo said.

Now that the space above the theater doors is occupied by the sculpture, it’s almost impossible to remember it as it was, said Arne Boezaart, vice president of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County.

“We can’t believe it’s been empty for so long,” he said.

“It was waiting,” mused McGuigan. “That space was waiting for the Schriers and Sherri Balaskowitz.”

Balaskovitz said it took no more than a month for her to come up with the design. The curved space above the doors called out to her almost immediately, Balaskovitz said. Out of respect for the donors, she declined to disclose the total cost of the project, but acknowledged that more than 200 pounds of steel were used at a cost of $7,000.

© 2007 Muskegon Chronicle. Used with permission