Comments on: Reading the Ruins of an Ephemeral State

By: Robert Hariman

Robert Hariman — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:21:58 +0000

Noah: Thanks for the comment and the link to your fine project. I think both perspectives are needed: we shouldn’t pretend that Detroit wasn’t abandoned by corporations and civic elites who could have stayed, and we shouldn’t conclude that those who remain aren’t capable of living well and creating a better future.

By: Noah Stephens

Noah Stephens — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 19:52:32 +0000

Photos like this are what spurred me to start my photo project.
The People of Detroit
Http://thepeopleofdetroit.com

Obviously, there is a lot of desolation, dysfunction, and despair in Detroit. Thanks to the stalwart efforts of gallavanting foreign and suburban hipster “urban explorer” photographers that alliterated angst has been chronicled ad naseum (I’m pretty sure these people find the smell of dank mildew sexually arousing).

But there life here also. There are industrious, interesting, talented people interspersed between the abandoned classrooms. That interests me more than any passé post-apocalyptic photo from a foreign photographer

By: BJS

BJS — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:29:31 +0000

This picture of “war-torn” Detroit in the American heartland is a post-apocalyptic scene of decay and collapse. Once the source of great music and prosperous industry, Detroit suffers from ill-considered corporate decisions and “political abandonment.” This is an image of a declining empire; from the boarded up windows and scattered artifacts to the heartbreaking fact that lessons remain on the blackboard. The emptiness of the focal point–the spot where a teacher might stand–prompts me to refill this classroom with idealized visions of teaching sisters and uniformed students. The mind and eye long to repopulate this space, extrapolate to the city at large, and imagine a restored Detroit.