Sheboygan Viewfinder is an edition of two manhole covers and selected sites. The custom manhole covers (viewfinders) are placed in locations where a culverted stream flows, replacing existing stormwater manhole covers, making visible and audible the underground stream. One is installed at Second Creek at Cooper Elementary School and the second is located along First Creek, not far from Lake Michigan.  

  This project was developed by artist Ginger Brooks Takahashi as a Kohler Arts/Industry Foundry resident in 2023, in collaboration with Sheboygan Department of Public Works and Cooper Elementary School. The viewfinders were created with the technical assistance of Kohler Foundry associates.

  The design refers to the openings in lotus seed heads, a plant that grows in the region’s waterways, as well as to ancient Japanese sword protectors. The viewfinders protect the underground waterway, as well as the viewer.  

Photos by Michael Huibregtse.