DETROIT - THE LOST CITY

So we've always had this fascination with Detroit. It's a strange one - something about the derelict suburbs, urban exploration and all the complete decline of population, leaving decay upon the city. 

We posted a while ago, these images that were discovered from Cass Tech High School, detailing the dramatic effect the economy had on this construction and essentially demolished the school, leaving ghostly outlines of adolescence. The images circulated wildly on the internet, promoting those of adventurous souls to capture and document the city and it's terrible rot into the 21st century. 

We watched Lost River the other night too, Ryan Goslings directing debut with a smashing cast and dreamy Drive-esque soundtrack from Chromatics. Listen, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Anyway the film is too realistic to some worlds and it encounters this suburban neighbourhood, on the edge of being 'damned' into a lost river. The citizens have moved away, there are no jobs and the slightly Twin Peakness of it all has hit the roof and next thing you know, Eva Mendes is showcasing some fetish-feline act towards the big city players, which hauntingly echo's that of the Laura Palmer theory behind those red curtains. It's pretty much like a sweaty nightmare - you know. Plus Matt Smith's in it too and performs a pretty shocking opposition to his well known Dr Who role (we didn't believe it was him, IMDB'ing instantly took place to clarify). 

So this fictional town, demolished and brutalized by society recalled all this research from Detroit. Now they say Detroit is on the up again, though almost 30% of it's current population are still unemployed. The 19th century, 8 bed mansions, dusty swimming pools and boarded up 7/11's can be revived once again, but it doesn't stop one thinking of the exploration and the deterioration that caused this once, vibrant city. 

Detroit was the hub of the motor industry back in the early 1900's thanks to the foundation of Ford and it's manufacturing and growth of industrial employment. It was known as the 'Paris of the mid-west' and was just booming with life, tourism and bussle. The city now hosts over 78,000 abandoned buildings after it's great depression and it's slowly taking off the band-aids to a rebounded, re-structured type of civilization. 

A while back we stumbled across photographer Philip Jarmain who's subject of 'American Beauty' heavily focuses on the decline of Detroit and it's aftermath of destruction. Jarmain states: 

“These are the last large format architectural photographs for many of these structures.”

Could the landscape of Detroit relish with the tourism from these ruins? This is an ongoing project, more to come. 


Words - Anna Jenkins
Images - Philip Jarmain & visual from Lost River, c/o The Film Stage. 

CLASS OF' 11

Flick River/Sexy People Blog- http://www.sexypeople-blog.com/

A laptop in hospital and the completion of a huge amount of Uni work means I have a lot of catching up. Graduating Class of 2011 in a few weeks. I hope Cameron will welcome me into the real world with welcome arms, other than this- I'm screwed. Looking forward to a beautiful summer though.

DEMO 10/11

Photographs captured by Frejya.

I attended the national protest against rising student fee's yesterday in London town with my university- and I must say, it was an experience. Although in my last year of education, I feel for those who's ambitions and dreams have now been crushed due to Cameron's plea of obviously defining traditional British class. The overall march was a success and we walked on a really beautiful fall day. London was covered in golden leaves and as the head of NUS chanted on the big screens while 50, 000 participants screamed. It's as if we are the forgotten generation- our voices are silent, we are being stomped on by a conservative revolution. It's not fair we have to suffer this output to older generations mistakes. However, I feel the march has hopefully made an impact. Many were there, including myself- for a peaceful, non-violent event. Some however, had other ideas.

As I was standing about 3 metres away from the doors of Millbank when the riot was happening, I could sense that the passion for the ending of tuition fee's ( the reason we were there) was lost. Anarchists and naive riot kids had taken over with rage, trashing the place- the majority with probably manner otherwise an excuse to cause chaos. I'm all for a peaceful protest and minor hatred towards what is happening with the Kingdom, but the site yesterday has now ruined our aim of funding a better future.

A friend said yesterday, ignorance is bliss. I have tried to follow politics, understand it- but my brain is like mush with it. In a way, I'm starting to feel like even bringing my own child into this world during these times would be selfish. Cameron states we all need to work together as a communal society, bringing us back several decades, but is anyone going to have motivation and passion if every inch of our power is being taken from us? We will soon be like robots in Cameron and Cleggs toy world.

STUBBORN ERA

The Art Of Brainwashing

Analyse this. I have decided I'm not good with art. I tend to be narrow minded, traditional thinking and although I have experienced and explored contemporary, modern art in the last decade I feel that a lot of work today, debatable is, well, shit. As we reach the end of the noughties it's believable that we could be running out of genuwine innovative and resources to create something original an truly inspirational that hasnt been done and rinsed.

I quit Art School. Okay, I still study at an art based uni but i quit studying art. I figured it was about the right time when I decided to do a 50's photoshoot with a housewive, naughty pin-up girl theme for my FDA and my Roberta-esque tampon teacup teacher ( Ghostworld/Terry Zwigoff/2001) declined the idea stating I should make a dress out of tupperware. I figured to get good grades you do what they tell you. And I objected. That was the day I decided art school was stupid. For me, anyway.

Normally to juge other's work you have to judge your own balance of opinion. I tend to be open minded in most art forms but for me within the fine art subject there is a line between classic and actually good, an then just stupid. I try to be open minded and I know particular art isnt favourable to a specific group but I really, really wish that the media today would focus on artists who don't scribble and shit paint out of their asses but the proper deal's.