Only in Detroit? Maybe not, but certainly symbolic of the state of the Metro Detroit area.
Archive for the 'art' Category
Snow White and the Six(?) Dwarves
Published May 19th, 2008 in morning, decay, abandoned, photos, photography, Michigan, art, economy and Detroit. 0 Comments
53 Places to go in 2008?
Published April 3rd, 2008 in abandoned, are you kidding?, New York Times, photos, photography, art, economy and Detroit. 0 CommentsNo this one is for real. I’m not making it up, and there’s been no Photoshop manipulation here. The New York Times says that Detroit’s one of the top places to visit in 2008.
Detroit’s a better place to visit in 2008 then San Diego, Australia, London, and New York! Wow, I guess my cynicism got in the way of realizing what a gem Detroit is! Yea, right… Who paid who, to get this listing? I agree that the new hotels are really nice, but if it’s about new hotels, why does Vegas rank lower? Hmm…perhaps the Times was trying to come up with some places that were a little out of the ordinary? Well, Detroit seems to be the only one out of the ordinary. Maybe one of us can’t see the forest for the trees…
I also do think the DIA is great, and the renovation is great. There’s more space, and it shows off the collections better. To bad the DIA doesn’t seem to be able to do for Detroit what the Guggenheim did for Bilbao, Spain.
I like to visit Detroit, but that’s because I like to take photos of abandoned and decaying spaces. What city could be better? That said here’s a few new photos:
Someone actually read a post!
Published August 16th, 2007 in summer, art, music, festivals, Michigan, rants and Detroit. 2 CommentsWoo hoo! I thought I was the only one to read this blog, and today I got a comment from Alberto Cottica, member and founder of the band Fiamma Fumana, which is a band that I’ve really enjoyed since first seeing them in Detroit in 2001. They were so good at the Detroit Festival of the Arts, that we went back to see them a second time a day or two later at the same festival. I also ran many blocks in the humid summer heat to get money from an ATM to buy the first album on the spot!
Pretty cool to get a comment from my favorite economics accordionist! I hope they come back to Detroit again soon.
I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m too up on Detroit today. There’s mixed reports out on Detroit. The good one is the report that the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership has “helped 45 companies either expand or locate in the Detroit region, generating investments totaling $66 million and adding 644 new jobs during the year ended June 30.”
The bad new, of course, starts with the area’s foreclosure rate, which is second worst in the nation, just behind Stockton, California (yuck) and just ahead of Las Vegas, Nevada (again, yuck). What a great group to be in: Stockton the overpriced, overly bland bedroom community of Northern California’s Central Valley, and Las Vegas, overly bland stucco tract housing in the dessert surrounding Sin City, were only the worst of society enjoys a stay.
The second bit of bad news contradicts the first bit (o.k., only bit of good news) of the Detroit Regional Economic Partnership report about business expansion and creation. According to the Detroit News, the state’s economy is stalled, and that business growth in the area fell dramatically in the last twelve months.
When Detroit bottoms out it may become a good investment. Question is when will that be? We’ve got much needed water (if it doesn’t all drain out…), and cheap land. Unfortunately, I think we’re still on the way down…but one day, it’ll head back up (I hope).
Detroit’s art scene sucks even more now than it did before…
Published August 8th, 2007 in art, rants, Michigan and Detroit. 0 CommentsYes, I know. It’s hard to believe. Could Detroit’s art’s scene ever become worse than it already was? Apparently so, says the Detroit News.
There was a debate on this very topic, here, back in June. Funny how people see what they want to see. I’m always told about someone who makes a living from their art. Of course there’s a few here. Unfortunately, we need more than a few successful artists in the area. Just like we need more than a few jobs in the area. Being able to point out one or two successful artists in the area doesn’t cut it. This may seem like a pessimistic view point, and maybe I should see the glass as half full, not half empty. Unfortunately, when it comes to the local art scene, the glass isn’t half full, or half empty, it’s just plain empty. And that’s not pessimism, it’s realism.