  Realitycheck Member Username: Realitycheck Post Number: 313 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 68.41.173.240 |
From new (May 8) issue of  If You Paint It . . . To call attention to the vacant, dilapidated houses that are ruining the view from Detroit's freeways, a group of anonymous artists have been secretly painting the eyesores bright orange at sunrise. Thousands of empty homes litter the city, in part because Detroit has lost nearly a million residents in the past 50 years. So far the artists, who've dubbed the project Object Orange, have painted 11 houses—three of which have since been torn down by the city. It's a good start. —David Gerlach © 2006 Newsweek, Inc. | ||
Blessyouboys Member Username: Blessyouboys Post Number: 398 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 69.209.163.122 |
Sweet. Great press. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 2446 Registered: 11-2004 Posted From: 69.47.100.44 |
I love this premise. Not only does it make the properties look a little brighter awaiting demise but it's a great way to motivate a city to start tearing down some of its eye sores. | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 777 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 65.54.98.27 |
Yeah! National attention for our awfulness! | ||
Schoolcraft Member Username: Schoolcraft Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2005 Posted From: 70.190.24.108 |
Little things add up. Its about people wanting change. Cool. Keep painting!!! | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 759 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 4.229.51.33 |
Theres another article coming up from an L.A. magazine too. DDD has an installation on the exterior wall of the former Revolution gallery right now. Pics on THIS THREAD | ||
Mcp001 Member Username: Mcp001 Post Number: 2155 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.14.135.95 |
Surprised that the MT didn't pick up on this one first? | ||
Genesyxx Member Username: Genesyxx Post Number: 501 Registered: 02-2004 Posted From: 209.69.165.10 |
Metro Times wrote an article (ableit a short one) on this a couple of months ago. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 761 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 4.229.51.33 |
Its been on the local newses several times as well | ||
Mcp001 Member Username: Mcp001 Post Number: 2156 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 69.14.135.95 |
Probably why I didn't catch it. I usually skip over the short ones. | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 780 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 209.104.146.146 |
Hmm...it strikes me that people across America won't read this as a great sign of protest by dynamic Detroiters, as much as another indication that Detroit is riddled with abandonment. | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 2561 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 66.167.58.162 |
Some of those can buildings be seen in the NW corner of the Lodge and Davison in Highland Park. You can get a glimpse from the Expressways. As for originality well... Tyree's polka dots have several year's jump on this idea. An artist, not sure if related to the paintings but suppose is, has an exhibition of photographs of these now on display at the new Paul Kotula Gallery aka PaulKotulaProjects. FYI, Paul Kotula was the director of the recently demised Revolution Gallery at 23255 Woodward in Ferndale. The new gallery is upstairs, above the former, Revolution and features many of the same artists from Revolution. Good art; support him. | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 292 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
1953, you are absolutely right. | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 785 Registered: 12-2004 Posted From: 209.104.146.146 |
Thank you, Eastsidedog. You've shown the intellengence that is so coomon among East Siders. | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 294 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Thanks 1953.  A story about houses being rehabbed in the city would be a positive story. This one is not positive. Personally, I'm not a big fan of DDD. Why don't they create some beauty - rehab a house - instead of indirectly destroying one? What they do is a mockery of these once proud homes. It's easy to paint the front of a house orange, rehabbing an abandoned house, now that takes dedication. There's an abandoned house across the street from me. I'd like to see what happens when they try to paint it tigerrific orange. I'd love to see what my neighbors do... oh wait, we're no where near the freeway... | ||
Sumotect Member Username: Sumotect Post Number: 186 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 64.243.32.9 |
I understand the concern that people have that Agent Orange is just another ruin fetish that portrays Detroit in an unrealistic state of decline. A number of things about their work are very interesting to me. Not being a member of the Graphitti is good school; I find most all graphitti adolescent, destructive, and boring. They (Agent Orange) have taken the guerilla nature of graphitti and set focus on the architecture rather than the way graphitti artist’s just use a wall as a base for their egocentric “Art”. To me the work is a kind of hospice care for structures that are nearing the end of their lifespan. Painting a building is normally the way one would maintain a structure. By the final act of someone “taking care” of a building certainly honors the building and may reinforce the memory of it after the building is gone. I saw a 55 second video that they made of one of their night time sessions, it was a real manifesto. Hope they keep it up, and would like to see what else they come up with. | ||
Arc312 Member Username: Arc312 Post Number: 24 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 35.11.161.238 |
It's pretty. | ||
Jt1 Member Username: Jt1 Post Number: 7286 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 198.208.159.19 |
I wonder if any of the DDD artists care enough about the city to live here and make changes internally. | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 296 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Sumotect, don't kid yourself with the art school BS. I went to art school too. It's a mockery of these buildings to paint them tigerrific orange. The first emotion typically elicited is humor followed by sadness. If they actually painted them properly with the care and attention someone would paint their own home, then it would be one thing but come on. On the other hand I really like graffiti art when performed on abandoned walls and such (see the Dequindre cut). Kilpatrick has spoken about creating a graffiti zone for artists to use all they like. Good Graffiti art takes talent. Plopping orange on the front of a house takes rationalization. I feel that houses have souls of sorts, imprints left by all the generations who lived and breathed in them over the decades. Painting these homes like this is just derisive. | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 297 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Jt1, I can't wait till they get f*cked up by some residents. I don't know too many people that would like to walk out their front door everyday and look at that shit. | ||
Mauser765 Member Username: Mauser765 Post Number: 767 Registered: 01-2004 Posted From: 4.229.123.107 |
"portrays Detroit in an unrealistic state of decline." Unrealistic ? Well it does indeed show the mind blowing amount of existing decay. No football game is going to make that all disappear overnight. | ||
Wirt Member Username: Wirt Post Number: 21 Registered: 12-2005 Posted From: 64.243.32.9 |
interesting debate.. When I first saw the original still shots, I thought 'how brilliant'. The video and follow-up shots on various sites left me wondering though... | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 306 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Tyree Guyton's polka dots are subtle and whimsical. Object Orange is loud, obnoxious, ugly and derisive. At least Tyree Guyton does it out in the open with his Heidelberg project, he owns up to it against the all the criticism. It's been bulldozed twice and he keeps going. These assholes do it by stealth at night. What a bunch of jerks. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 397 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 65.42.23.2 |
I don't live too far from most of the houses which have been painted orange. I hate them, it's enough to see the decayed houses, but to have them put on display.. YUCK | ||
East_detroit Member Username: East_detroit Post Number: 588 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 141.217.44.31 |
Tyree doesnt own up to the polka dots that are off his campus. I know that because I interviewed him for WSU and he waffled.... but then again, you cant blame him.... its illegal. | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 307 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Visiondetroit, EXACTLY. For just once, think of how this feels from a residents perspective. Think of what this does to THEIR environment. Detroit residents are tired of being the socio-economic-political statement of the month. I really hope someone catches them and beats there asses and paints them tigerrific orange! | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 308 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
East_detroit, well duh! Of course he's not going to own up to them. But at least he owns up to Heidelberg. He's making his statement and not running away somewhere to hide. | ||
Deputy_mayor_2026 Member Username: Deputy_mayor_2026 Post Number: 30 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
There are benefits and downsides to the artists’ demonstration of abandoned houses; however, I like what other artists at the Heidelberg Project are doing better. They are at least changing the desecrated homes into a work of art and not a protesting piece of graffiti. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 401 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 65.42.23.2 |
"They are at least changing the desecrated homes into a work of art and not a protesting piece of graffiti." That's open for interpretation.... | ||
Eastsidedog Member Username: Eastsidedog Post Number: 310 Registered: 03-2006 Posted From: 68.20.140.8 |
Very true, Viziondetroit. Art is always open to interpretation. To be honest, I like the Heidelberg project and really liked it when I was in college and was first exposed to it by a teacher.. But, I don't think I'd be too happy if Tyree started building it across the street from me now. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 403 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 65.42.23.2 |
It's kinda like the lesser of two evils.. You have Guyton and his "campus" and his lil dots around the city etc... and then you have the Ghost Riders who SPOTLIGHT houses... I agree, I would not want a Heidelberg in my neck of the woods, but I do have the damn Tiggerific houses not too far away. I would "prefer" the campus approach vs random placement, lol I like visiting the Heidelberg project, it's like a rolling art gallery.. | ||
Deputy_mayor_2026 Member Username: Deputy_mayor_2026 Post Number: 31 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
The orange houses are not really worth visitng. Heidelberg has some touristic value, although, viziondetroit makes a good point: it is open for interpretation. But I still think that it is better than just painting houses orange. Regardless, both projects have some value. | ||
Realitycheck Member Username: Realitycheck Post Number: 314 Registered: 08-2004 Posted From: 68.41.173.240 |
Recipe for a lively discussion: 1. Post 2 paragraphs from a newsweekly at Discuss Detroit! before it hits racks or mailboxes. 2. Sit back and watch self-stirring action. 3. After letting it marinate less than a day, sample a spicy variety of nearly 3 dozen comments. 4. Past results are no guarantee of future success, as ingredients and forum temperature may vary. |
