USA - Lixenberg sculpture unveiled downtown

Lixenberg sculpture unveiled downtown
Posted by Rachael Recker The Grand Rapids Press September 14, 2007 GRAND RAPIDS -- Water in Grand Rapids took several forms Friday: Vapor, liquid -- and steel.
Press Photo/Jon M. BrouwerSteel Water by contemporary Dutch artist Cyril Lixenberg was unveiled in Grand Rapids on Friday. "Steel Water," a 33-foot tall, 5-ton sculpture by contemporary Dutch artist Cyril Lixenberg, swayed slightly in the biting wind whipping up the nearby Grand River as it was unveiled Friday at the entrance of the new JW Marriott Hotel downtown.
The West Michigan Dental Foundation commissioned Lixenberg to create the symbolic piece to commemorate Grand Rapids' history as the first city to fluoridate its water supply on Jan. 25, 1945.
"I hope it functions. I think it has," said Lixenberg, who was at Friday's unveiling.
"It's a beautiful site," he said of its location making it visible across the other side of the river and down Pearl Street.
The ceremony was attended by Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, and Dr. James Wieland, head of the West Michigan Dental Foundation.
"You will hear a little bit about fluoride, but this is mostly a celebration," Wieland said. "It is our goal to celebrate this wonderful community."
The mayor labeled the city's fluoridation decision "a bold move," and as "people of the river, the people by the river," the sculpture is a "powerful visual reminder of that history."
"It's a proud day in Grand Rapids," Heartwell said. Ehlers admitted to having 23 cavities at age 15, which may have been due partly to a fluoride-free upbringing in Minnesota, he said. Had there been fluoride in his water, Ehlers said, "maybe I wouldn't have had such a sad history of dental care."
He also said that the $8 billion spent on bottled water each year could easily help our nation's "deteriorating" water systems.
Wieland said he's enjoyed watching the many positive reactions to the blue, rippling, wave-evoking structure during its three months' of construction with Grand Rapids-based Leitelt Iron Works.
"It's simple, but every angle has a different shine, a different shadow. It's ever-changing with the weather, and that's the beauty and the miracle of it," he said.
The sculpture replaces a more "narrative," 11-year-old white marble monument dedicated by the West Michigan Dental Foundation that was vandalized and worn down by the elements. The ceremony also was attended by two fluoride opponents from the Mount Pleasant-based Citizens for Pure Water. Urging a moratorium on fluoridation, which has been said to increase health risks and cause cancer, both carried posters reading "No to Fluoridation, Yes to Choice" and "No fluoride for babies." "Who wants to die from cancer at 30 with perfect teeth?" said Citizens committee member Margaret Heintz, 88, of Mount Pleasant.