Here is a link to Painting Detroit. Art project based in the city. Enjoy!
Painting Detroit
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Here is a link to Painting Detroit. Art project based in the city. Enjoy!
Painting Detroit
hey, im new to this site. above is the project that i am currently working on.
i once painted dumpsters
not good money in it though
haha no :)
you're not a painter, you're not a painter.
spilling and throwing paint around is not painting, it's creating an eyesore.
Haha....I can remember seeing some of that in the Packard Plant. I wondered who would do such a thing....kinda interesting if u ask me!
The Painting Detroit series will be shown at the location and time below. The show is called Focally Grown. It is a show for us seniors at the College for Creative Studies [[CCS)!
Time
Friday, February 25 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location
Valade Family Gallery, Taubman Center
485 W. Milwaukee
Detroit, MI
I'm mot sure how I feel about your project. From a visual perspective, I find it interesting and appealing. However, I'm not happy about the use of the abandoned and tagged sites.
It might be OK on the interior of abandoned buildings, but when it goes outdoors on public property, then it bothers me.
For example, the doorway of the abandoned building....I hate to see further destruction of the property, not to mention that there is now paint on the sidewalk. Although you might see it as artistic expression, I think it invites more tagging and destruction by others.
i can agree with you on the fact that the exteriors brings more "taggers" to paint on what i have done because it "makes a nice background for their work." The exteriors were more done in the beginning of the series. Now I am focusing on doing things like the cart on the homepage. Painting objects in their environment.
It is kind of ordinary in a big way John. It doesnt stand out from the rest of the graffitti on the streets of Detroit or anywhere else. Maybe painting dumpsters for a couple of years and reflecting on that and other things would bring a better Focal Distance to all of this. If this is what results from 2 or 3 years of study at an art school, it is better to not study in an art school. Reflect on what you have done so far, and try to think of how much work and finesse went into designing that little cart, and the classroom setting you vandalized in your eagerness to shock. Try to differentiate between the forgettable and the memorable and unique. Read as much as you can to help yourself find the words and put them in the right sequence because what you wrote is clearly unclear. Painting and making art is a painful thing, it is difficult, and vandalism is a cop-out and really shocking for all the wrong reasons.
Huh John... I just found some pretty distressing pictures of some tortured souls on your personal website. Please tell me these arent for real. Is there any way of erasing the hooks in them? Either you are a Photoshop wiz, which I suspect you aint, or they are the product of a mind that equates art with dumping tires on a vacant lot.
I share this critique, particularly with exposed public and private property.
My personal ethic is the that nothing gets broken into, nothing gets altered, nothing gets removed. Think of it like entering the Parthenon or the Coliseum. Would you splash paint on them, if you could? I know some may argue that there is a big difference in historical significance between them and the Packard Plant or MCD but is there, really?
There is plenty of magic to be found if you look in the right direction at the right time and leave things undisturbed.
I dont see it as vandalism, I see it as creating what I want. With this I do understand that there are going to be plenty of people on both sides of the fence. People will either love it or hate it. It is out of my hand now.
On another note... Doesn't this project say something about the city. Not because of the paint, but because of the number of buildings that are apart of the project. I think it says something about the city its self.
Through the use of art, or graffiti [[as stated) people can speak about social/political issues even if its not directly spell out for the viewer.
The "distressing" images on my site are real. It is know as body suspension and has been used for many reasons for a long... long time. Take some native american tribes for example. This was a ritual of becoming a man.
Actually yes, I know quite a bit about photoshop. I do a lot of post-produciton work and I teach classes on photoshop.
Which suburban neighborhood are you from? I want to create what I want, also.
Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
Oh, Bingham Farms on Telegraph. That will make the phone call easier, thanks.
For the most part, nothing is broken into. The buildings are just sitting there. Open. Everything in every building that I have personally been into is altered, with just about everything removed. Its just the way it is.
The Parthenon and Coliseum are landmarks of the area. So, whats Detroit's landmark? I would probably not be stepping too far out of line by saying the Train Station? Because the Train Station is almost highly regarded as a landmark of the city, I didn't paint it. There are hundreds of people that have seen this work at its first showing. Not one negative comment. Maybe they were just afraid to say something negative about me or my work. And thats their choice. But I felt that if I did paint the Train Station, it would probably turn most the people that love the work away. They would hate it because of that one image.
I believe that when we have something in abundance, such as these buildings, people should use them for something. I don't agree with people that go in there to destroy the building by breaking things or setting fires.
I know a lot of people will not like what I do. I cannot change that. I love the buildings. I really think putting paint on something is on a completely different page from the ones who try and break things in the buildings and set fires and so on. I figure I would use the buildings for something. So I used them as a canvas for my work
Detroit isn't your personal place to shit on.
You are breaking the law.
I consider accounting offices in Bingham Farms to be crappy buildings that I can tag, but I haven't yet broken into one and/or used one for my artistic endeavors. Are you saying that I should feel free?
What does it say about the city? What does it matter if you paint inside or out of one or many buildings?
I am maybe not awake enough to see the social or political comment. The fact that you are painting objects and parts of derelict buildings doesnt make a potent statement. I see too much of the same stuff that merely says wannabe. If you went out and painted objects and walls on a daily basis, you might find this stuff not so hot, whether you photographed them or not.
As for the people hanging form meat hooks, well I've heard the same garnbage about tattoos and scarification being a form of passage rite long ago and across civilization. Frankly, it is just sad that these guys need to wannabe somebody by crucifying themselves, I cant fathom this.
it says that there are a plethora of abandoned buildings and that they are easily accessible.
i havent seen anyone else do this. so im not sure how its "wannabe." the only thing that came close to this was in the early/mid 1900's by a photographer painting abandoned home interiors. i cannot remember his name off the top of my head.
as for the people suspending. it has nothing to do with crucifying anyone. from what i know and understand some do it because they like to push their bodies to the next level. some have spiritual thing happen. some just do it to try it. some do it just for the performance aspect [[concerts, haunted houses, and so on). some like the adrenaline and endorphin rush. and im sure there a many other reasons.
as you said "I am maybe not awake enough to see" maybe you just need to open your eyes a little and see, experience, and/or understand that people do what makes them happy.
it says that there are a plethora of abandoned buildings and that they are easily accessible.
Sorry, It screams "I am going to what I want to do with total disregard to the other taxpayers of public property and I will force my view of art upon them"
You have documented what is trespassing ,vandalism ,and destruction of private and public property for your own singular belief or agenda you are no different then a scrapper trying to justify destruction ,are you willing to foot the bill when it comes time for the clean up on those properties?
The poster above gave excellent advice: Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
That is the signature of a respected professional and artist.
I will tell my friends about your gallery show, maybe you can meet them there.
I just opened my eyes a little and still find it painful; not in anyway a happy thing.
Wow, isn't it great? You can do whatever you want to do in Detroit.
You want to break into a building and cover it with paint? Just make sure you are in Detroit and call it 'art'.
Wanna take rip through the streets in a snowmobile? Just make sure you are in Detroit and have enough people with you to feel legitimate.
I have a problem with people who [[1) do wrong in Detroit and [[2) popularize their activities as cool.
They fail to see that illegal activities, when committed in Detroit, are still illegal.
"I am not a bad person, I am making the city more hip and thus contributing to its comeback."
Contributing to law-does-not-matter/criminal mideset is hurting Detroit.
How about actually contributing to society by doing something useful.
Create legal art or open an art gallery.
Create a business where people can ride snomobiles or motocross bikes depending on the season.
For clarification . . .
This is not about who commits the crime or even the obvious fact that people commit crimes.
It is the smugness that leads a person to draw public attention to the crime and the implication that flows from it- That the illegal activity is not a crime!
For example:
You are a bad person for beating a homeless man for no reason, you are worse for posting the video on Youtube.com.
You are a bad person for vandalizing community buildings and even a worse person for enshrining the activity with a public website and solicitng online traffic from those interested in the community generally.
Nah I just want to litter my neighborhood with tire dumps, get drunk and pee in alleys.
I am glad I am not the only who feels ma's pain!
That snowmobile video was pretty cool actually!
Anyway, not sure if you are saying, "Go away you unruly suburbanites creating the havoc in my city." But really it's been the city residents who have slowly shown that you can dismantle a city with petty crimes and unruly behavior and have no punishment or law come in their way. Not that this justifies anyone's actions, but it's a general feeling of the region that Detroit is somewhat lawless...
If I lived in Detroit, I would become an artist who does the complete opposite....I would "urban explore" and set up classrooms in schools, dentist's offices in the Broderick, paint a single wall to look like new, etc. This would leave a real impression.....imagine walking though an abandoned building that is essentially destroyed and coming across one tidy room!
I started typing this as a joke, but I think it may have some validity hahaha.
Please see my post in "Painting Detroit."
you sure can...
http://www.detnews.com/article/20110...body-under-bed
You are right that would be a GREAT idea! Seriously. It's almost like when you drive through a shitty neighborhood and there is that one awesome house. Honestly, this would be very cool to see!!
And to the artist with this paint scheme. I don't get it and technically you are breaking the law regardless of your point. But between the orange dots and orange houses etc. abandoned things have been painted in Detroit before....
The ultimate irony would be if you were arrested or got a ticket for trespassing and you had cleaning supplies and brooms with you.
I seriously might do this or arrange for an artist to do this!
I am DEFINITELY opposed to defacing property that is not yours, such as throwing paint all over it and calling it "art."
John - you are a very selfish, childish, and woefully immature person.
You don't own it. You don't have a right to vandalize it. And I don't care what you call it - it's still vandalism.
This is the entitlement mentality that has brought Detroit to where it is. Time to stop.
Go away John, the city doesn't need anymore ruin porn.
http://www.reversegraffitiproject.com/index.html
this is a few years old.
Painter/photographer, whatever you claim to be, there is no denying that you are a trespasser and a destroyer of property.
If you were truly doing this for the sake of art you would have no need to have your name attached to it.
bad form.
When I lived in Downtown Detroit in the mid-90s, I wouldn't stop for traffic lights at night. I'd look both ways and drive right through. There was never anyone around anyway. Plus, I know that if I got a ticket, you can fight it in court by simply saying, "There was a car following me. I was getting away from them." I saw that excuse work in court. So, I'd drive up the curbs, down sidewalks, through red lights, speed. Whatever. It didn't matter. There was no one around to harm anyway.
...on property that is not yours to alter.
Which means that, sometimes, buildings are broken into.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the Paint Detroit website
Dear John Kuhn:
I hope you get arrested. Other than that, I am amazed that you would go on a public forum and admit to these crimes and use your real name.
Outsiders disrespecting Detroit is an old issue, not that longevity makes it any less legitimate today.. The Metro Times did an excellent article on the subject about 25 years ago. And, in 1984, Detroit Police officials blamed the post-World Series riot on suburban young people [[who spent Game Five drinking outside of Tiger Stadium while the cops worried about the crowd misbheaving inside).
I like the photos of the painting environments you did. The colors are perfect with the rusted "canvas."
When I took the train out of D.C. in 2009, I realized why some people do graffiti art. it's too cover up ugly places.
The buzz about Detroit being wide open for artist-types is attracting way too many simplistic, self-important and unreflective goofballs who think their idea of calling attention to abandoned Detroit buildings is 1) unique-as-a-snowflake, 2) helpful and 3) "art".
With each new "installation" I find myself liking 1990's Detroit more and artists less.
Yes, well if it makes you feel better, this kind of nonsense happens everywhere else; but of course, the problem in Detroit is the number of abandoned places and the lack of protection. I live two houses away from a high school and the kids break the tempered glass in the bus shelter every couple of weeks. There is a transit co. crew that comes and repairs this mess throughout the year.
Vandalism is vandalism period.
The only graffiti I respect is the mural work on allocated walls and there is a program by the city of Montreal to join up building owners and graffitti artists. I did a mural in 1981 which though faded is still there. I can handle the stuff on freeway ramps but not on public or private buildings without consent. Some of these murals are amazing, and the kids deserve to have access to space if their aim is to contribute something worthwhile. I think there are opportunities in Detroit for young artists who want to do that through similar programs.
Same as it ever was . . . I used to root around in abandoned buildings in the the late 70's with my petty criminal friend, Bob Lane. [[ I expect he's gone from this life by now). We would take photos with slr's and have prints made up.
Wish there had been digital camera's back then. I could have taken thousands of pictures.
From now on, all tagging of buildings, tossing of tires into fields, and throwing of garbage out car windows will be done in Bingham Farms, instead of Detroit.
If CCS implicitly approves of this type of activity, they deserve a little less respect and maybe a visit from the cops to their event.
Wasn't it also a CCS project a few years ago where they were painting on parking meters, etc... some kind of fish or something stupid like that?
It's a lot easier to throw some paint on a wall and snap a pic than painting a mural--true urban artists. That stuff looks like shit. It's been done better with time.
All jibes aside, I continue to be tired, as I have been for years, of people from outside the city who treat our city as their little lawless playground and act here in ways they wouldn't dare act back where they came from. Particularly when they act as if no one lives here, or as if the people who live here don't count and can be disrespected at will.
Yes, but it's OUR city. We're the ones who live here, not you. So don't whine if you go around acting like laws end at 8 Mile and end up serving a few nights downtown as our guest in our lovely accommodations.
plus the work really screams cliche. I really prefer the less self-conscious and rich graffiti in the city. sorry.
Nope. And so if you come down here and decide that it would be fun to paint over a whole building that doesn't belong to you or tear down someone else's street on a snowmobile or just plain get drunk and act a destructive or combative fool, then you shouldn't mind a few days hanging out with them either.
Hey EastsideAl, did you check out the Painting Detroit thread? You'll love this guy's "art" project. And by love it, I mean you'll hate it. Slapping some paint on property that doesn't belong to him and calling it art.
Nice one Coleman...
"I issue a warning to all those pushers, to all rip-off artists, to all muggers: It’s time to leave Detroit; hitEight Mile Road!"
Tyree Guyton called and wants his idea back.
It's just not original, it's cliche, and doesn't exhibit any talent. Do what you got to do, but I don't think the MET will be calling any time soon.
Hey yessers,
Tell me if this is way off for this site or not. An acquaintance in the media has an interest in exploring this story.
Would developing this give the story/"artist" undue exposure? The last thing I want to do is to give this thing any positive exposure-hence my declining to appear on camera.
Would anyone be interested in sharing your opinion to this reporter?
I guess my feelings exactly mirror Kathleen's... there is much visual interest in the painted car, the boat, the vehicle... and perhaps even the painted human figure [[or whatever it is). But just splashed about randomly it adds to the destruction, and detracts from the merit of the work.
I too was upset to see all the paint splattered on a public sidewalk in front of the corner doorway. And I hope that wasn't a Cass Tech High School room all splattered with paint. That one was disturbing.
I'm sure the OP now wishes he hadn't posted this thread...
At least the OP has stated that he is now focusing on painting objects in their environment [[like the the cart, boat, car, and hopefully mannequin). But even there try not to further muck up the area around your "object" with splattered paint... and do leave the buildings alone!
After the shellacing [[pun intended) that this kid got on this forum... I think that this kid may just want to get on with his exhibition... and leave it at that. On the one hand, he could generate some media interest... but if the media approached the topic from an angle of "breaking the law"... then it wouldn't be the kind of exposure to help his artistic cause., and he could get into legal hot water with the city...
One would hope he learned something from this thread, and wish him the best in the future... with an eye towards being more responsible.
You still don't get it, do you? Where you may see emptiness and a potential lawless playground, I see home. And it is home to me and over 800,000 other people. Most of us, believe it or not, law abiding citizens, trying to make the best out of living in a terrible economy with limited resources under often difficult conditions. Then along comes that guy from somewhere else who vandalizes the hell out of vacant houses, classrooms, public bridges, etc. that do not belong to him by spraying neon bright paint all over them and calling it "art." Only that's my city, the city that I, my parents, my cousins, all live in that he's spraying paint all over.
Oh and then there's those cool overgrown kids who decided to go out and snowmobile up and down our streets and freeways, and just to show how cool they think their potentially dangerous foolishness was, they put it up on YouTube. So why did these brain surgeons chose our fair city to do this in? Why not do it in Farmington Hills, or Troy, or Livonia? Because chances are they'd all be in jail now, and their nice little toys confiscated, if they did that.
As several people point out above, these are only the latest incidents of outsiders coming here to my city specifically to do "wild and crazy" goofy crap they wouldn't dare do at home. This kind of stuff has gone on for years now, and it is infuriating for those of us who actually live in your "playground."
Now, like most people, I'd like to see the drug dealers, b&e men, felonious assaulters, etc. thrown in jail. But I'd also like to see these other "just having fun" jerk-offs thrown right in there with them. All of them treat my home like trash and disrespect and diminish the quality of life of myself, my family, and my neighbors. It's just too bad that that would take diverting our precious and deeply understaffed law enforcement to police the actions of over-entitled and under-matured middle class overgrown children who should know better.
What sticks with me most is when I saw a Lions tailgater savagely beat a homeless man for bothering him...
Rest assured DPD was not happy with him when they showed up, and I'm sure they saw to that he got what was coming to him...
The bright spot is that it is a double-edged sword and these risk-takers operate in an environment where their punishment can be meted out to them quite arbitrarily...street justice is unforgiving.
Detroit: where you'll get what you deserve.
It was. I was walking around that floor with a Cass Alum who was explaining the difficulties in rehabbing a building like Cass. We came to that room, and he didn't understand why paint had been thrown everywhere. When I told him it was probably someone's idea of "art," he had a lot to say about how this sort of thing negatively impacts the rehabilitation prospects of a building.
Not like it was going to be a deal-breaker with Cass, but you get the idea.
I think the worst thing about that "art project", is that it screams "ordinary".
I would rather stand back in an empty warehouse and contemplate its history and details. If I come across a splattered room someone promotes with self-indulgent drivel, poorly thought out, and badly written; chances are the "vacant shell of a building" will win out.
There was one artist in particular who died at age 35 in 1978 and did some pretty interesting and potent stuff in the seventies where he would cut derelict buildings in amazing sculptural forms. And he didnt put out obscure and pathetic artist's statements to shroud the work in mystic crapola. Check out Gordon Matta Clark's work on the web. Now, he did cross the line and vandalized to some extent mostly buildings that were scheduled for demolition. But his work had the same potency that the vacant architecture has when it begins to speak to you.
http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tate...ing/attlee.htm
I wondered who the smartass was that threw paint all over my favorite boat over there behind the Milwaukee lofts, and on the doorway and concrete on the building at Milwaukee and Russell.
WTFEver.
Eastside Al I agree with you 100%
Detroiturbex... when I saw the arched windows and the rather high up views of downtown in the background... I thought... oh God... don't tell me that's old CT!!
The mention of the snowmobiling in the city got me wondering... in the Balduck Park area I've seen tracks going across people's lawn and all... and thought WTF... who's doing this?? Time to start putting some large stones around the property... to mess up some peoples fun... and machinery...
I think this is awesome. All the buildings are clearly already beyond repair. The generation that let this all rot lost their say in what happens to it a long time ago.....
I say keep up the good work JohnKuhnPhoto and welcome to the forum.
keep putting light into the darkness.
Here is a building that I worked on with permission. PJ's Lager House. Obviously some Detroiters approve of what I am doing, and are willing to support the project!
PJ's Lager House
There you go that would be considered a nice project. You got the owners permission and it was done tastefully.
You cannot justify that the door was already tagged so it was okay for you to apply your own style of tagging all you were doing was to lower yourself down to the level of the original tagger.
If you use your talents on projects such as the wall you will gain much more respect and draw much more positive attention then the shock and awe and methods as you did earlier.
But you are still not understanding what everybody is upset about,the facts are somebody else applied paint on property that did not belong to them and they did not have the right to do that.
Then you did the exact same thing.Two wrongs do not make a right .
Would you be happy if somebody dumped a can of paint on your car? It would not matter if it was a rusted out piece of junk that nobody wanted.The fact is that car is your property and nobody else would have the right to do anything with it.
It is called respect.
Seriously, you are terrible, who goes around vandalizing the city for shits and giggles? Right… some rich kid from the suburbs who went to Country Day then CCS on his parents’ dime, and was then so bored that he started destroying himself and the city as a hobby/career. You shoot ruin porn, but unlike most people, you don’t just study the decay that is happening, you destroy it further. I don’t doubt you rent a space in the city, but I doubt you will ever be a property owner here, you will never raise you kids here, your just here to play and it’s horrible. Please get out of my city.
last time i checked i don't shoot ruin porn. and im not doing this project for shits and giggles. and yes im looking at getting a property in the city, but i do currently rent. if you feel that strongly about nothing happening to the numerous abandoned buildings, they why don't you go and do something about it instead of sitting on the internet and just complaining?
You have no more right to throw paint all over public spaces and private property in Detroit than I would in your rich Oakland County suburb.
You know what I did with a vacant structure in Detroit? I bought it. I live in it. I pay my taxes. What a fucking concept, right? That is doing something about it. Too bad you didn't get to throw your paint all over my house and ruin it before someone with some work ethic and respect for others got to move in and fix it up like a decent person, right?
You're a child who has no respect for anyone elses' property. Typical for rich children like you - you've been handed everything in life so you don't know the value of anything and you're bored stupid, and just plain stupid to boot, and this is what the world gets as a result. Some of us didn't have it so easy that we went to Country Day and CCS and got to fuck around and make other people miserable all the time.
I am an art lover and a photographer myself. What you do is artistic, but you have no right to be doing it to what is not yours, and subjecting other people to it.
Buy one of these spaces in Detroit and do whatever you want to it. Then you can call it art, and it is rightfully yours. If you were really talented you could get a grant - there are substantial ones out there - but alas, that would require real work, not just vandalism justified in the name of art.
You make me sick, and I know who you are. You would be extremely wise to watch your back. It is dangerous out there. And the lawlessness doesn't apply simply to throwing paint around. With the slow police response times sometimes us tax-paying residents have to resort to vigilante justice.
You go around vandalizing one of the world's most dangerous cities and you're on facebook...and everyone can see who your girlfriend is...and what you look like...for all that fancy education, you are still as dumb as shit, you know that?
Who forgot to instill decent values? Joellyn?
as someone who has explored a lot of these places with a camera i would suggest just sticking to the photography. when i first entered the broderick tower in 2006 i saw rooms in that building that had paint splattered all over them. it wasnt art, it was a vandal who had taken wyland's left over paint and thrown it across the room and all over everything. thats the first thing i was reminded of when viewing your project. i found the painted truck interesting, but everything else is stuff ive seen by countless artists and vandals. there is nothing new here.
i can appreciate wanting to create or depict beauty in a place that many consider to be ugly or desolate. as i photographer i challenge you to do that with your lens, not by adding paint to make a statement.
as for bringing attention to these places for others, i think you are a little late to that party. detroit's ruins have been well documented and have gotten more than enough attention. i started exploring back in 2005 before things exploded when it was a small community of people who knew how to enter these places. our motto was always 'take only pictures, leave only footprints' and im proud to say that we never broke into these places and certainly werent destructive. by 2008 exploring had become so popular that i lost interest in it altogether. when suburban soccer moms are starting to get into places thats the time to get out...
oh and if you want to see how to take an abandoned factory and make it a place for art, look to the fisher body plant and the pyramid of wood blocks that were laid out. now thats creating something without being destructive, to me that was creativity at its best.
Richard,
You left this city for Tampa. What gives you any say in what happens to it and everything you left behind?
Finders keepers.
Southen, always glad to take you away from your busy schedule to have you back from time to time to add your perspective [[pun intended ;-)... I'm always in awe of your photography skills, and have sent many folks to your Flickr site...
...although I still get Vertigo even thinking about the image of your feet dangling from the edge of the Broderick Tower... :eek:
cuz im the one who acts as if they are still in high school? trying to scare people? i will buy a space in detroit and if i dont, its still art...
i dont live in oakland county anyways. so yes, do what you want, its your choice
and yes, im going through the grant process right now.
so it makes you a better person because you didnt go to the schools that i did?
what building did you buy?
before they fix it up? really? most the ways to save pretty much every building is to tear it down and rebuild it. they are not structurally safe... the people who were around when they went abandoned had the chance to save them or preserve them and they didnt do anything. just saying.