When I first entered the Apse in the Winter 2024 term, I was drawn to the piece The Dress of the Poem (see: left) by Khlaed Al-Saa’i in the center of the space. This piece was “commissioned for the [Watershed] exhibit to ‘explore his connections to the Great Lakes through Arabic calligraphy, poetry, and collage’” (Smith). In this piece, Al-Saa’i uses beautiful swirls of Arabic calligraphy, and paints a cool-toned piece that stands out against the maroon backdrop. The piece itself is encoded in a powerful personal and geolocational history, in which I found Al-Saa’i addresses his own origins. He acknowledges the water insecurity that has plagued the region he was born in, Syria (Smith). 

Moreover, the piece itself has its own ties to the UMMA. Al-Saa’i was inspired by “Sea and Rain: Lake Michigan” by an Ann Arbor poet Keith Taylor (Smith). Furthermore, Taylor’s piece was inspired by James McNeil Whistler’s painting, “Sea and Rain” (see: right), a part of the UMMA’s permanent collection and above Al-Saa’i’s on the second floor (Smith). The ties to the University of Michigan don’t stop there. In 2002, Al-Saa’i actually taught a calligraphy class at the university (Smith). Overall, the conjoined history amplifies meaning and captivated me.

Stepping back, I saw two statues standing guard in front of Al-Saa’i’s piece, Flora by Richard James Wyatt (see: left), and Nydia the Flower Girl of Pompeii  (see: below) by Randolph Rogers. Wyatt’s statue, Flora, is embedded with its tale in arriving at the UMMA. Flora was gifted by Albert M. Todd, who also has a library in the University of Michigan named after him (“Flora”). Not only does Flora tell a story in its arrival, but in its creation. Richard James Wyatt had finished the piece in 1850 just before his death (“Flora”). This piece representing a mythological Roman spring goddess was the last of his work and at the birth of the art came the end of the artist. 

I found the origins of Nydia the Flower Girl of Pompeii (1859) fascinating as well.  Roger’s most recognized work takes inspiration from the 1834 novel The Last Days of Pompeii by Edward Bulwer-Lytton (Southgate). Like Wyatt and many artists throughout history, Roger would settle in Rome but would travel back to Ann Arbor to fulfill commissions (Southgate). I can see the similarities between this piece and Flora in their complementary history and nature. Both statues frame the entrance into the Apse and have strong ties to Ann Arbor. As the sunlight drifts through and lands on them, I see their interwoven and rich history in each chiseled line.