May 8th, 2008 writerspice
Busy, busy, busy. Working ten-hour days this week, while the world outside shifts between grey skies and sunshine, edged in cold and warm, air weighted in moments with humidity. Off to Uxbridge tomorrow for an assignment, while another lies all over my desk like an exploded bomb.
In the midst of it all, bum sore from sitting on the hard chair, shoulder aching from moving the mouse too much, I take a break and wander over to Flickr, to look at some of my friend A.’s photographs.
They make me happy – these moments she snaps – how she can stop the everyday rush and grab the beautiful, the humourous, the graceful, the elaborate, the simple image out of the obliteration of time and freeze it into something extraordinary.
She certainly has the eye.
Posted in Art, Pretty Pictures, Recommended, Writing Life | No Comments »
November 1st, 2007 writerspice
Back in the 1800s, so the story goes, the city of Jackson, Michigan, 75 miles west of Detroit, was given the choice between state prison or state university. Living in an industrial age, they clearly saw the advantages of having plenty of prisoners around: cheap labour to keep the factories functioning. But these days, that cheap labour is more commonly found in other countries and the town of Jackson, its prison closed up in 2002, has slipped into decline.
But they also had this hulking body of a stone building on their hands, so some creative folks got together and the Armory Arts Village was born. Starting this December, the massive walls of the former maximum security prison will be holding a whole new population: artists. Subsidized housing will provide over 60 printmakers, potters and painters with affordable lodging while they create, show and sell their work in several studios and galleries spread across the campus. Music, theatre, workshops and studio crawls will bring new life to a once-dead building.
It’s an ambitious project and one in keeping with the current popular philosophies of Richard Florida, who upholds the idea that
artistic and culturally vibrant communities attract high-tech industry
– much needed in this age of a declining manufacturing base. Case in point: Google recently set up shop in the gallery-lined streets of artsy Ann Arbor, Michigan.
As an arts-oriented person and one in love with history, I was particularly attracted to Jackson’s project. The huge room that once held layers of cell-blocks and is now set up for regular concerts and art shows took my breath away. The labyrinthine halls were intriguing. And in the model suite, it seems I shot a photo of a ghost… exactly the sort of thing worthy of any curiousity-seeker worth their salt. Here’s the photo. Now debate.
Posted in Art, Otherworldly, United States | No Comments »
October 30th, 2007 writerspice
On Sunday, I fulfilled one of my travel goals. It was a modest one: not like yurting in Mongolia or walking the moors or crossing the ocean from the old world to the new a la my ancestors.
Instead, this place I’ve always wanted to see is relatively close to my home and can be easily repeated. And by the looks of the amazing changes underway, I will happily return
to the Detroit Institute of Art to gaze up again at the Diego Rivera murals.
Housed in a glass-covered courtyard, the frescos were painted throughout 1932 and capture the age of industry and vibrancy that once defined the suprisingly quiet and crumbling city. With a decidedly communist bent, they were controversial and raised a hubbub appropriate to the great Mexican artist, who once said, as quoted by PBS, “An artist is above all a human being, profoundly human to the core. If the artist can’t feel everything that humanity feels, if the artist isn’t capable of loving until he forgets himself and sacrifices himself if necessary, if he won’t put down his magic brush and head the fight against the oppressor, then he isn’t a great artist.”
As we left, driving by abandoned art deco buildings and police cars angled sideways on the streets, I thought about the struggle to bring this once wealthy American city back to life. If he could, what would Rivera paint about Detroit these days?, I wondered.
Things change, places change, but there are some destinations and sights that stand the test of time, despite what happens all around them. What are your travel dreams: what have you always wanted to see?
Posted in Art, United States | 2 Comments »
