NY Times - Last Stop on the L Train: Detroit

[MSUguy]

Nice piece by the Times about people relocating from New York to Detroit to open businesses here.


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/fa...smtyp=cur&_r=1

[XDetroitr]

Good article... When influential artists and taste-makers continue to come to Detroit, others follow. But Detroit is starting to sound like an artistic gold-rush boom-town. I hope the excitement can continue.

[mwilbert]

One area where Detroit has a competitive advantage is among people who need a lot of space in an at least somewhat urban environment. Many artists fit into that category.

[iheartthed]

One area where Detroit has a competitive advantage is among people who need a lot of space in an at least somewhat urban environment. Many artists fit into that category.

Detroit would also need a high concentration of creative consumers for this to actually be a competitive advantage. That's what made it work in NYC during the 70s - 90s. Depressed prices in urban areas in close proximity to creative consumers.

[ndavies]

Art can be outsourced to Detroit from NYC for exactly the same reason cars can be imported from abroad.

You no longer need to be that close to your customer. We now have the internet and next day delivery.

[TTime]

Art can be outsourced to Detroit from NYC for exactly the same reason cars can be imported from abroad.

You no longer need to be that close to your customer. We now have the internet and next day delivery.

To take your thought process one step further, art can be outsourced from anywhere including places that are cheaper than Detroit. Why not Kansas or Montana or anywhere cheap, USA?

[EL Jimbo]

To take your thought process one step further, art can be outsourced from anywhere including places that are cheaper than Detroit. Why not Kansas or Montana or anywhere cheap, USA?

Two things,

1. Detroit likely has logistical advantages that Montana and Kansas don't offer.

2. Artists need inspiration. The types of artists who found pre-gentrification Brooklyn inspiring likely wouldn't get that from Montana or Kansas. But they could from Detroit.

[bust]

Two things,

1. Detroit likely has logistical advantages that Montana and Kansas don't offer.

2. Artists need inspiration. The types of artists who found pre-gentrification Brooklyn inspiring likely wouldn't get that from Montana or Kansas. But they could from Detroit.

I totally agree. I've met an endless number of people fascinated by Detroit and the amazing history of cultural and industrial production it has produced. I think we tend to take that for granted. Kansas and Montana don't compare.

[TTime]

I totally agree. I've met an endless number of people fascinated by Detroit and the amazing history of cultural and industrial production it has produced. I think we tend to take that for granted. Kansas and Montana don't compare.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in those locations that would take you to task on your argument. Are mountains not a good source of artistic inspiration? How about Farmland? I think a 101 course in American Visual Art History might provide some perspective.

[TTime]

Two things,

1. Detroit likely has logistical advantages that Montana and Kansas don't offer.

2. Artists need inspiration. The types of artists who found pre-gentrification Brooklyn inspiring likely wouldn't get that from Montana or Kansas. But they could from Detroit.

I'm with you on your first point but your second point is highly subjective.

[EL Jimbo]

I'm with you on your first point but your second point is highly subjective.

Of course it is subjective. ART is subjective.

Regardless of the medium, there are often instances where artists are drawn to location that inform and inspire their artistry. William Faulkner couldn't have been William Faulkner if he hadn't lived in the South. Pearl Jam wouldn't be what it is without Seattle. Would anyone know who Jimmy Buffett is if he'd never moved to Key West? Place is important in artistry.

Now not every place is for every artist. An artist has to find the place that works for them. The next Frederick Remington might find Kansas or Montana to be inspirational than Detroit, but the artist who used to find the things about Brooklyn inspiring but is now being priced out of their Williamsburg studio space may find some of that energy and vibe they used to feed off of for their art in present day Detroit.

Is it subjective? Hell yes it is, but it doesn't make it any less true.

[iheartthed]

Art can be outsourced to Detroit from NYC for exactly the same reason cars can be imported from abroad.

You no longer need to be that close to your customer. We now have the internet and next day delivery.

No, not really. Sales requires relationships with customers. You cannot build a name without being immersed in the network. It's more analogous to the dealership than it is to the factory.

[mwilbert]

No, not really. Sales requires relationships with customers. You cannot build a name without being immersed in the network. It's more analogous to the dealership than it is to the factory.

That is why God created art dealers. The dealers are the ones with the main relationships with the customers, and typically the ones doing the promotion. The artist only has to show up occasionally.

However, you are somewhat right. You have to sell yourself to a dealer, and that is easier if you are hanging out where the dealers are, which is a major reason why artists do go to New York. But most artists don't sell that much wherever they are, so they may be better off being where it is easier to work on their art. A lot depends on their priorities. And it isn't that hard to get to New York. You can go to New York a lot for the difference in rents on a 6000 foot space.

[iheartthed]

That is why God created art dealers. The dealers are the ones with the main relationships with the customers, and typically the ones doing the promotion. The artist only has to show up occasionally.

However, you are somewhat right. You have to sell yourself to a dealer, and that is easier if you are hanging out where the dealers are, which is a major reason why artists do go to New York. But most artists don't sell that much wherever they are, so they may be better off being where it is easier to work on their art. A lot depends on their priorities. And it isn't that hard to get to New York. You can go to New York a lot for the difference in rents on a 6000 foot space.

Well, you can get to New York a lot easier from Newark than you can from Detroit, and Newark is also a lot less expensive than New York.

Granted, I'm not an artist and there is probably a lot of qualitative reasoning that goes into where the artists end up. But I'm just a skeptic that there is, or will ever be, a substantial movement of New York based artists to Detroit.

[mwilbert]

Well, you can get to New York a lot easier from Newark than you can from Detroit, and Newark is also a lot less expensive than New York.

Granted, I'm not an artist and there is probably a lot of qualitative reasoning that goes into where the artists end up. But I'm just a skeptic that there is, or will ever be, a substantial movement of New York based artists to Detroit.

Fair enough. I have no particular reason to think it will happen either. It is something that might make sense for some artists, that's all. There are lots of reasons why it might not make sense too.

[ndavies]

I agree. It basically boils down to, where does the artist want to make his or her art? Where can they survive doing it? There's a balance in there somewhere.

[bust]

Besides talent and dedication the things artists need most are time to create and a space to create in. The first two requirements must come from the artist him or herself. But Detroit is a great place for the third and fourth. New York isn't.

[bust]

That said, the people moving from New York to Detroit tend to be creative and entrepreneurial, which are the qualities that probably led them to New York in the first place, but they're not all artists. Meanwhile, one thing I've never heard of [[yet) is someone born and raised in New York who has recently sought to pursue a career in Detroit. But that's just fine. Detroit isn't for everyone.

[bust]

Alphabet City in many ways led the creative renaissance that happened in NYC during the 80's. Look familiar? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vkxFs7Q84c. And of course, you should see it today: https://goo.gl/maps/MFejV.

[SWMAP]

I see that this article is now one of thee top ten most emailed articles from the NYT today.

I see that the "respect the people who lived here through the 'bad times' crowd" is celebrated in the article.
“One thing anyone moving here needs to know is you have to come into Detroit respecting the people who have been living here through all the city’s struggles,” Ms. Cassells said.
But can anyone please tell me what this actually means, in real day-to-day life here in Detroit? What aren't you supposed to say? What are you supposed to do to demonstrate this nebulous respect for exactly who? How will people know if they have been respected or not respected?
I think this concept is not fleshed out enough.

[Hypestyles]

New Yorkers need to hire Detroiters when they set up shop here.

[TTime]

http://www.bustle.com/articles/23350...have-to-starve ...this article was from last year but it mentions a few cities that I didn't think of. I read a few of these lists last night and Detroit is mentioned in one or two of them.

[SWMAP]

Its pretty obvious that, even now, Detroit is Jack White's muse.

[Hypestyles]

I want to move to NYC.. or the vicinity.. I've had enough of Detroit.

[hortonz]

With the University of Windsor set to begin construction on a new $12.8 million school of visual and performing arts in downtown Windsor and Wayne State and the CCS nurturing Detroit's burgeoning arts scene, this could have the potential to create an arts and music corridor that spans two nations and leads to the revitalization of downtown Windsor. Great News!