Exploring Brighton’s Sculpture: 'Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me'

On last week’s tour of Brighton’s public art, we viewed two semi-abstract figurative bronzes created by Lansing-based artist Jeffrey Bohl.

This week, we’re taking in "Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me," a piece created by artist Adnan Charara.

Charara spent his childhood in Lebanon and Sierra Leone. Passionate about art, Charara came to the U.S. to study architecture and urban planning. After spending a decade working for the state of Massachusetts, Charara decided to pursue his creative impulse full time. He currently lives and makes art in Dearborn, a city that he is happy to call home.

Located just outside the Imagination Station, "Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me" is one of the most visited works in the Brighton Biennial Sculpture Exhibit. What child—or parent—wouldn’t be drawn to a giant ovoid head protruding from the ground?

Cartoony and kid-friendly, the character represented in "Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me" reappears throughout Charara’s work. This particular version of the character is booger green and features a bulbous nose, a pair of beady eyes, a thin smile, and three tiny hats. Otherwise unadorned, the surface of the piece serves as a blank slate for Brighton’s budding artists.

The only intentionally interactive sculpture in the Brighton Biennial Sculpture Exhibit, "Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me" is meant to be drawn on. provides the chalk and wipes the sculpture with a damp cloth when there’s no more room to draw on it.

A wash of water isn’t always enough, however. The city’s Planning and Zoning Director, Amy Cyphert, volunteered to repaint the sculpture last year after someone drew on it with permanent marker. Cyphert will paint the sculpture again this spring to cover vulgar drawings and graffiti.

Bored kids often target the sculptures, Lauri French, Community Development Administrative Assistant, said.

At some point, someone chipped one of "Bring Your Chalk and Draw on Me’s" hats, and, in the last month, one of arms was bent.

“Every time something happens to the sculptures—and there have been quite a few incidences—it gets reported to the police department along with a photo of the damage,” French said.  “There are cameras located around the Imagination Station and ,” she added.

Those cameras helped catch the kids who removed one of "" from its pedestal in 2007.

The Brighton Biennial Sculpture Exhibit, a project overseen by the City of Brighton Arts and Culture Commission, originated in 2006. It consists of 35 sculptures, twelve permanent and twenty-three temporary. The permanent pieces were either bought by or donated to the city. The temporary pieces, whose duration in Brighton depends on individual contracts with the BACC, are for sale. Prices and details are available at http://www.downtownbrighton.com/1/brighton/art_walk.asp.