Keeping Detroit Beautiful
June 29, 2012 11:13 PM Subscribe
Renowned L.A. based graffiti crew The Seventh Letter and affiliates have been working on the Detroit Beautification Project (Vimeo link).
Bonus Seventh Letter related stuff:
Cross Country video
Rime/Jersey Joe 'sketchy' video and Jersey Joe website
Saber interview from Infamy. **extra bonus!! Rolling Stone article on JA, Saber's nemesis and the guy who painted over Saber's legendary LA river piece (before and after and then after again)**
T-Lok interview from Infamy
GKAE on 90s talk show Gabrielle
Small video collection of MSK/AWR (the two crews that gave birth to Seventh Letter)
Bonus Seventh Letter related stuff:
Cross Country video
Rime/Jersey Joe 'sketchy' video and Jersey Joe website
Saber interview from Infamy. **extra bonus!! Rolling Stone article on JA, Saber's nemesis and the guy who painted over Saber's legendary LA river piece (before and after and then after again)**
T-Lok interview from Infamy
GKAE on 90s talk show Gabrielle
Small video collection of MSK/AWR (the two crews that gave birth to Seventh Letter)
Most of those wall works are beautiful, and they allow the neighborhood
to come together. It is a good thing. ... but there is a lack of diversity in the art.
Its all the same.
...I would not want my neighborhood to turn into one big bright gaudy cartoon strip.
Please save some those walls for those of us who actually like
the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete. The stains
running down by rotted gutters. the color of rust when it bleeds
over faded paint. The minimalistic landscape of an aging concrete wall
is like the beauty of a desert. It gives the mind openness and an escape
to dream.
posted by quazichimp at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2012 [3 favorites]
to come together. It is a good thing. ... but there is a lack of diversity in the art.
Its all the same.
...I would not want my neighborhood to turn into one big bright gaudy cartoon strip.
Please save some those walls for those of us who actually like
the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete. The stains
running down by rotted gutters. the color of rust when it bleeds
over faded paint. The minimalistic landscape of an aging concrete wall
is like the beauty of a desert. It gives the mind openness and an escape
to dream.
posted by quazichimp at 12:50 AM on June 30, 2012 [3 favorites]
A fresh coat of paint does much more for humanity than a fresh coat of cuffs.
posted by isopraxis at 12:59 AM on June 30, 2012
posted by isopraxis at 12:59 AM on June 30, 2012
Please save some those walls for those of us who actually like
the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete. The stains
running down by rotted gutters. the color of rust when it bleeds
over faded paint. The minimalistic landscape of an aging concrete wall
is like the beauty of a desert. It gives the mind openness and an escape
to dream.
I see a lot of this where I live and other places in Stockholm and it's sad how bad concrete ages. There's something desperate about those concrete stains and blocks and blocks of gray concrete houses. Living surrounded by concrete isn't fun.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:19 AM on June 30, 2012
the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete. The stains
running down by rotted gutters. the color of rust when it bleeds
over faded paint. The minimalistic landscape of an aging concrete wall
is like the beauty of a desert. It gives the mind openness and an escape
to dream.
I see a lot of this where I live and other places in Stockholm and it's sad how bad concrete ages. There's something desperate about those concrete stains and blocks and blocks of gray concrete houses. Living surrounded by concrete isn't fun.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 1:19 AM on June 30, 2012
On the one hand, yay art! On the other hand, boo vandalism of property and the broken windows principle, and boo making more work for people who are essentially employed to repair and prevent vandalism in the hopes of keeping crime down!
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:51 AM on June 30, 2012
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:51 AM on June 30, 2012
> On the one hand, yay art! On the other hand, boo vandalism of property and the broken windows principle
The broken windows theory is on shaky ground even when you're talking about actual broken windows. Here, there's plenty of supporting footage of people admiring the work. It's adding to the perceived value of the neighborhood, not subtracting from it.
Most of this is legal work anyways.
> and boo making more work for people who are essentially employed to repair and prevent vandalism in the hopes of keeping crime down!
Yeah, we wouldn't want to accidentally make jobs in Detroit!
> Please save some those walls for those of us who actually like the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete.
Huh? You could give every living human being in Detroit a can of paint and they couldn't even begin to color every concrete wall. Let alone ten guys. I don't think a shortage of concrete-colored walls to look at is a problem we need to lose any sleep over.
posted by churl at 10:29 AM on June 30, 2012 [2 favorites]
The broken windows theory is on shaky ground even when you're talking about actual broken windows. Here, there's plenty of supporting footage of people admiring the work. It's adding to the perceived value of the neighborhood, not subtracting from it.
Most of this is legal work anyways.
> and boo making more work for people who are essentially employed to repair and prevent vandalism in the hopes of keeping crime down!
Yeah, we wouldn't want to accidentally make jobs in Detroit!
> Please save some those walls for those of us who actually like the slowly changing beauty of the patina of concrete.
Huh? You could give every living human being in Detroit a can of paint and they couldn't even begin to color every concrete wall. Let alone ten guys. I don't think a shortage of concrete-colored walls to look at is a problem we need to lose any sleep over.
posted by churl at 10:29 AM on June 30, 2012 [2 favorites]
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This is accentuated when ownership is vague and inspiration is desperately needed.
posted by poe at 11:43 PM on June 29, 2012 [6 favorites]