This is an ongoing film series about the material and artistic byproducts of a supposedly declined city, and how the creative thinkers who traverse its everyday challenges have learned to harness this energy to create seemingly incongruous works of a celebratory or humorous nature.
Young artists and curators working with and influenced by the social fabric of the city have learned to embrace Detroit’s potentially negative facets, and I believe their work is so enmeshed with the city’s fabric that it is the only place their current modes of artistic research and production could occur. In short, Detroit seems to produce strong artists who take risks, both physically and socially.
This film is a labor of love, an outcome of my fieldwork as an artist and a folklorist. It will continue to grow and mutate with no fixed idea for its final outcome. Two additional segments are in the editing process, and I hope to continue to fly home to film other segments as my meager budget allows.
Future installments will include the work of Stephen Schudlich, Alana Bartol-Vince, and Nathan Vince.
