Part of a series. I don’t normally buy into the notion that we’ve got to counter “negative” images with “positive” ones, largely because both are part and parcel of a move that smoothes over critical aspects of American life. In this case both the “positive” and the “negative” pictures of Detroit blind people to the economic and political decisions that made Detroit the poster-child of rustbelt cities. But given the contemporary focus on Detroit ruin porn, I thought I’d go against that narrative. I took this picture as part of my ongoing 365 series (since January 1, 2010 I’ve taken at least one picture a day).
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Been thru Detroit a few times. Definitely two sides to every coin!
some interesting things in the pic. downtown detroit gives a totally different vibe without the ren cen. urban renewal area for a civic center designed right after world war2 by the saarinens. until then, it was all railroad yards, docks and warehouses. big muscle in the rational planning era when detroit was a model city, but surgery that cut out it’s heart. isamu noguchi designed hart plaza as a setting for the dodge fountain and had no intention of creating it as a cultural place, the underground rooms were an after thought when coleman young prompted the idea. and the uaw, responsible for that big ring, was the latest to treat hart plaza as a dumping ground for plop art, cluttering up the noguchi original. that being said, the demf used the setting for perfect effect, juxtaposing the music with the sculpture in the plaza. nearby mariner’s church (which was relocated there), had “the wall”, the 100% holler at the young ladies spot in the city of detroit…
From the Archives: Black Visual Politics-This too is Detroit http://t.co/jJkuVDmg
Beyond “Detroit ruin” porn. RT @LesterSpence: From the Archives: Black Visual Politics-This too is Detroit http://t.co/d5h3WN66