Forest’s Rest

  • Linear Location

    Fish Ladder adjacent, Grand Rapids, Michigan, US (42°58'25"N 85°40'33"W)

Overview

We learned about the work of Forrest Bess through a mysterious auction–and the story of his disaggregation in time came into focus. He is especially intriguing because he was the only artist to paint both Nobunaga-Gotari and Nobunaga-Ventreven from life, but because he had spent time with the Bravenleavanne, he was able to share their values with Gotari soon after Gotari founded Hizurokoro.

Access

Address: Near the Fish ladder, on the right bank (here, the West side) of the Grand River, near the intersection of 4th St NW and Front Ave, NW. Then walk up a small hill just south of the Fish Ladder.

Just south of the fish ladder on the right bank (western side) of what we call the Grand River. It is on an asphalt walkway right by the river.

Public Dedication

Dedication Date: 2009-09-27

A walking tour to all 5 sites as part of Art Prize was the dedication. The whole tour took about an hour and finished at the Grwostlaven plaque inside Hopcats.

Text of the Marker

The part of the story installed here:

Forest’s Rest

This spot is known as Forest’s Rest, a mild corruption of the name of noted painter and proselyter for Bravenleavanne, Forrest Bess. It was one of the most peaceful places here in Aywatin gwome, for here alone the sound of water transformed into a lighter than air canopy, floating to shield you from the sun, and, for the fortunate, the aywattenne, a kind of aerial jellyfish, would settle here, puffing a cool breeze down upon you. When the Geraldine troops, resplendent in taconite, awaiting the attack on Erailen, scared away even them, dark times were indeed nigh.

Here in Aywatin, what we call the Earth turns on its axis 412 times a year, but across the river, in Erailen gwome, it turned 350 times. This disalignment made the remarkable literally everyday: stunning sunsets in the night—even a lunar eclipse at high noon (for astronomers, an early example of light pollution). But this was not the danger. It was briefly spanning these gwomes’ incompatible textures of time that, despite a most skilled grwost, tore Bess’s lifetime (and he was far from alone) in two. In vain, he awaited his own youth here, finally setting off for the southern shores facing the rezhn Klurrulurrudurrul. The self-separation was an added burden for Bess, but it brought at least one gift: he was the only artist to paint from life both Nobunaga Gotari and his countless generations distant descendant, Nobunaga-Ventreven.



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Related Stories

Some well known characters of the xthaere

Nobunaga-Gotari

Bravenleavanne