David Zinn, whimsical local artist, is an Ann Arbor treasure. His chalk drawings on sidewalks are fleeting (though I have a few of his prints hanging on the wall), but in 2014 he put up a permanent work: the Singing in the Rain mural on Fifth Avenue. If you stand at the right spot, Gene Kelly appears to be swinging from a real-life street lamp (first photo below). No news here so far.
(I went looking for Zinn’s social media presence so I could link to him and I see he has >300k Instagram followers! I’m not surprised, his work is well-suited for that channel. I’m glad he has a large online following in addition to his local adoring fans).
Walking down Fifth Avenue on a rainy day in October 2017, I stood at the spot where the street lamp aligns with the mural – and noticed something on the sidewalk at my feet. A pair of footprints had emerged to mark where the viewer should stand, along with lyrics to the titular song:
A hidden bonus artwork had revealed itself! These appeared to have been made with stencils and a clear coat that is only visible when it prevents the underlying pavement from moistening – and darkening – during rain. Rainworks has some examples of this medium.
Twice in the past year I’ve walked past that spot in the rain and not seen the hidden art. So I emailed the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) who had sponsored the mural, to see what had happened and if they could restore it. They didn’t know what footprints I was talking about, and when I shared the photos, they said they’d never known about anything of the sort and couldn’t say what had happened.
I noticed last week that there are some newer-looking sections of sidewalk pavement in that area. If I remember, I’ll compare them to the photos I took in 2017 and see if that explains what happened.
Unresolved is who added the bonus sidewalk art. Was it surreptitiously added by David Zinn? Or by a 3rd party? Its hiding-in-plain-sight nature already made it some of my favorite art around Ann Arbor and its rogue creation only adds to the mystery. I hope the stencils are reapplied! If they’re not, then my photos serve as a memorial. If you know more, comment or drop me a line.