Detroit Day 3

There are pics from around Detroit interspersed in this blog post. 

In the 12-14 years since we were here, the immediate downtown, maybe  20-30 square blocks worth, has been rejuvenated.  The majority of the abandoned houses have been cleared and are now empty lots, somewhere from  hundreds to thousands depending on the neighborhood. Orchards have been planted in some areas. In he last dozens years, the devastation of thousands of abandoned homes has  been cleared away.

Stops 1 and 2

Anders is a local professor and grew up in Denmark and now splits time between here and there. Stop 1 is a small installation at a downtown gallery and stop 2 is half a living space and half a Mystery House in a neighborhood where there are many empty lots.

window

the i-phone takes what little light there is (ad there is very little) to make the pic come out better. Only 8 at a time on the dark side of the house. A location for the Blair Witch project?

Anders making sure nobody gets hurt, you had to sign a waiver to get in

it's warm to the touch

the floor is tilted and disoriented just like the highway Mystery Houses

even the blog is misaligned

around town

remnants of the sidewalks are still visible

Stop 3

ceramics "with lights"

the upstairs office given the Turrell touch 

Jess Ring video (NFS)

Stop 4: Wasserman Projects

Curated show from over 500 applicants

DB fave: Head off

Head on

THB Fave

Stop 5 Lunch: Great pizza served up in stages so a hot one came to tables every few minutes, plus another tour member treated THB to a Peroni on tap (THB "forgot"  this was a no alcohol Tuesday)

around town

very unusual: new house under construction

Stop 6: I.M. Weiss gallery/house

Lauren is on the tour with us today

Lauren on left: DB and THB make a purchase here (two small vessels pressed together, not shown)

an orchard

Stop 7

Adebummi is also with us on this stop and the Wasserman Projects show. When she was done presenting her works at both shows we felt her work  is deeply contextual and what you are seeing (a video, paper with clay, rice, cotton, and other additives from her family background, you get an understanding of how personal it is for her. Sorry, no pics...  

Silkworms in clay "frames"

this cocoon hatched

Stop 8, just a few steps away

60 pairs of fiber artists and ceramicists were paired up to collaborate on a installation, and this show was the results. Some great, some lackluster, and a bunch in between . Lots of pairs did not know each other before the effort began.

consensus was this was the at the top as best collaboration

the clay on this piece is drying out and falling off

Stop 9, the Convention Center

one show, Hispanic artists, is open (the next day, we purchase a piece very similar to one we have seen here)

here's the sibling

the head doesn't come off this one

Stop! J is pooped: E, DB and THB share a burger, turkey club sandwich, and three drinks, $120, in the hotel bar/lounge.