An Animal's Tale of Michigan: Tourism

Artist Todd Zimmerman (American, 1963 - 2022)

Date1994

Mediumwatercolor and ink on paper

Dimensionsimage: 9 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (23.5 × 15.9 cm)
sheet: 11 15/16 × 8 15/16 in. (30.3 × 22.7 cm)
mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)

Credit LineArt Auction Fund for the Artreach Study Collection

Exhibition History"Perspectives on Place: Artists' Visions of Michigan's Land and Lakes," KIA Nay Gallery (June 6 - Sept. 7, 2008). Label TextLongtime Kalamazoo resident Todd Zimmerman created An Animal’s Tale of Michigan for the KIA’s outreach program in 1994. He envisioned the project as an entertaining introduction to Michigan history for children. The series’ 36 panels highlight the state’s historic industries (from fur trading to car manufacturing), famous figures (including Tecumseh and Henry Schoolcraft), landmark structures (such as the Soo Locks and Lake Michigan lighthouses), and cultural contributions (like fine art and Motown music). With the exception of tourists, all of the people in Zimmerman’s series are represented by animals native to Michigan. This panel acknowledges the important role of tourism in the state’s modern economy, showing an elephant and rhinoceros from out of state vacationing along the lakeshore. The animals’ clothes humorously cast them as quintessential tourists - a sign of the sense of whimsy that plays a key role in Zimmerman’s series despite its historic subject matter.

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