buckshot.jones
one view
What do you think of when you hear Detroit brought up in conversation? I suspect for most folks visions teetering on the third world come to mind. Of late a great deal of focus has been placed on our city. Much of what is written and shown is done to support one agenda or another. Thomas Morton in a blog post (www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-something-som...) calls this fascination "ruin porn". His central theme is the media has an agenda to paint a very bleak picture of the city and journalist from around the world are scurrying about town and manipulating images to support this theme. He makes a powerful case. The sad truth is much of this reporting, while extreme, has a solid foundation. The situation in Detroit is nothing new and has been going on for 50 years. We happen to be at a tipping point where the abandonment of the city is particularly striking.
Morton is correct in scolding the journalist, though I don't think his argument applies to artists. Detroit offers people the opportunity to see many things. The journalist has an ethical obligation to report the facts, unvarnished. The artist is presenting a view, how they see the world. When I look at my home town I see many things- sadness, grit, strength. I see a city aging and- much like myself- not always gracefully. I see hope and despair. Mostly I see memories, almost all fond, of a life that is vanishing right before our eyes and there is nothing we can do about it. Not a thing. It is the vanishing world that makes my heart ache. Yes I can capture one shot that captures the despair and tilt my camera the other way and see Oz. These days I fear Oz is more the illusion.
one view
What do you think of when you hear Detroit brought up in conversation? I suspect for most folks visions teetering on the third world come to mind. Of late a great deal of focus has been placed on our city. Much of what is written and shown is done to support one agenda or another. Thomas Morton in a blog post (www.viceland.com/int/v16n8/htdocs/something-something-som...) calls this fascination "ruin porn". His central theme is the media has an agenda to paint a very bleak picture of the city and journalist from around the world are scurrying about town and manipulating images to support this theme. He makes a powerful case. The sad truth is much of this reporting, while extreme, has a solid foundation. The situation in Detroit is nothing new and has been going on for 50 years. We happen to be at a tipping point where the abandonment of the city is particularly striking.
Morton is correct in scolding the journalist, though I don't think his argument applies to artists. Detroit offers people the opportunity to see many things. The journalist has an ethical obligation to report the facts, unvarnished. The artist is presenting a view, how they see the world. When I look at my home town I see many things- sadness, grit, strength. I see a city aging and- much like myself- not always gracefully. I see hope and despair. Mostly I see memories, almost all fond, of a life that is vanishing right before our eyes and there is nothing we can do about it. Not a thing. It is the vanishing world that makes my heart ache. Yes I can capture one shot that captures the despair and tilt my camera the other way and see Oz. These days I fear Oz is more the illusion.