THE VIEW FROM DETROIT

Bankrupt Detroit reveals the darkest side of American capitalism. And in the middle of the city is ground zero of urban decay, the “sprawling corpse” of the Packard plant. Abandoned since 1956, it’s 3.5 million square feet have contained every possible activity including urban explorers, scrap thieves, arsonists and the homeless.

In 2010, Banksy tagged a wall but unlike all the other graffiti covering every surface, his wall was quickly cut out and saved by the local 555 Gallery.  This past Christmas Eve, Photographers exploring the plant found a dead body frozen to the ground. It turned out to be a murdered young black man, Marko Davis.

I explored the plant last fall (in the daylight and not alone) and was amazed by the space.  Not only is it fascinating for the crumbling architecture of the auto industry, but for the layers and layers of graffiti. Some of it is fast and crude but other walls are well designed and took a great deal of time. You can feel the flow of humanity that has passed through the space and marked it in some way. Seeing bits of furniture here and there, you can imagine people camping out in some of the spaces.  I saw a graffiti-covered couch and was inspired to paint this study in markings.

But things are about to change. Where others see 40 acres of devastation, Fernando Palazuelo of Lima, Peru, apparently sees charisma, architectural challenge — and a bargain. He paid $405,000 in a tax- foreclosure sale to obtain the industrial wreck by 2014. He plans to make it a vibrant hub of automotive suppliers, offices, shops, lofts and maybe even a go-kart track. Can it happen?

SCAJAQUADA BABY

Now at the Buffalo History Museum is an exhibit of photos of Scajaquada Creek. This once pristine stream, meandering through Cheektowaga and Buffalo, has been diverted, damned, fought over and polluted, but is gaining new respect. The exhibit at the History Museum was organized by the Grant-Amherst Business Association from their Black Rock Historic Photo Collection. 

  

The Buffalo/Niagara Riverkeepers have organized community cleanups each year, pulling out shopping carts, tires, plastics and other typical debris. I volunteered for one Riverkeepers cleanup and was presented with a doll dragged out of the murky waters. “Scajaquada Baby” became the centerpiece for this assemblage. In the background is my photo of the creek as seen under an ancient bridge along the bike path. A map of the creek is painted on the left inside wall of the box. The outside panel is painted with miniature graffiti based on the walls of a nearby abandoned factory. Altogether, it’s a “neighborhood in a box” and my little bit of Scajaquada history. 

The exhibit at the History Museum continues through March 23.