  Gnome Member Username: Gnome Post Number: 398 Registered: 08-2007 |
Anybody have any news about the WJR report that several homes in the Heidelberg Project are on fire. | ||
Kingofdetroit Member Username: Kingofdetroit Post Number: 14 Registered: 10-2006 |
Good riddance. If this city is going to change this would be a good start. Stop idolizing trash... I'm just kidding. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2593 Registered: 10-2003 |
I wondered...I heard that there was a fire at Mount Elliott and Heidelberg Street, but nothing about Tyree's project being involved. WWJ's website notes the four houses near Mt. Elliott and Gratiot were destroyed, but no mention of Tyree's Heidelberg Project. I have to assume that they weren't involved. If they were, it would be news! | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6836 Registered: 02-2004 |
Just crazy folks burning down what left of the old wood frame victorian bungalows, ranches and colonials. Who cares about the houses. Let's rebuild some 22 Century George Jetson mega houses instead. | ||
Rocknrollscientist Member Username: Rocknrollscientist Post Number: 90 Registered: 05-2005 |
It was the 'taxi house'. Arson is suspected. You can read about it here on WXYZ's site: Heidelberg story. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2594 Registered: 10-2003 |
Very interesting that it took some 5 hours for a news story to note the Heidelberg Project connection. I had checked several different sites plus had heard it on the radio...all without a Heidelberg mention. Thanks for the update, Rocknrollscientist! | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 1486 Registered: 12-2004 |
Our man Tyree will probably petition the city to let him keep the charred hulk of a house, because it, too, is surely art. | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 375 Registered: 10-2003 |
From Jenenne Whitfield, executive director of the Heidelberg Project, today: "I wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight about the fires that have occurred within the Heidelberg Project community. There were three structures located on Mt. Elliot and Heidelberg that were set on fire, again. These three structures had already been set on fire approximately four months ago and were considered an eyesore by neighbors within the community. Consequently, Tyree responded by adding works of art to these already charred structures. Sometime early this morning these three structures were set on fire again. It should also be noted that an abandoned house on Preston Street (2blks N. of Heidelberg Street) was also set on fire. Surprisingly, however, the structures on Mt. Elliot still remain standing and the artwork still remains in place. From our perspective this is symbolic of the resilience and determination of the Heidelberg Project. Fires within the Heidelberg Project community are, unfortunately, a regular occurrence. Whether they are set by vandals, squatters or whether they are part of a larger conspiracy we can’t say. What we can tell you is that we do not believe that someone deliberately set out to do harm to the Heidelberg Project or Tyree Guyton. Our vision, hope and commitment to the Heidelberg Project and the surrounding community remains strong and we will continue to move forward. Some members of the media have attempted to spin this (unfortunately) into a story about the Heidelberg Project being intentionally attacked, this is not AND we do not believe that is the case. As you can imagine, Tyree is simply back on the job!" | ||
Rocket_city Member Username: Rocket_city Post Number: 477 Registered: 04-2006 |
I love Jenenne, but if they believe the fires were set unintentionally, then why doesn't the project secure some grant money to provide for security? I'm not one to trust the main stream media, but I too have my suspicions. | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 376 Registered: 10-2003 |
She didn't say they were "set unintentionally," because if you set fire to something it is by nature intentional. What she said is the main houses of the project were untouched, and that a house on Mt. Elliot that was previously torched and to which Tyree Guyton recently added some elements was torched again, as were some non-decorated abandoned houses in the neighborhood. The main project was not involved at all. It's not a matter of trusting the "mainstream media." This assessment is from the director of the project. | ||
Fnemecek Member Username: Fnemecek Post Number: 2628 Registered: 12-2004 |
Regardless of whether the fires were set intentionally or not, it would still be a good idea for them to pursue funding for security. An accidental fire can do as much damage as a deliberate one. A security guard on duty can minimize the damage, if only by making sure that the fire department is called in sooner. | ||
Detroitpetanque Member Username: Detroitpetanque Post Number: 15 Registered: 09-2006 |
I enjoy Tyree's assemblage art, though I'm not sure that his neighbors do. I guess if the community and the city really valued his message, and his presence as one of the sole contemporary outsider artists of Detroit then perhaps fencing off the project into a sort of "Outsider Art Gallery" with a contingent of guards and a small admission fee woud be the only way to ensure that continued arson could be curtailed. But I suspect the reality is grim, that his "pieces" will just have to withstand whatever bad weather (with no structural maintenance) and bad deeds pulled by arsonists and vandals will afford. The problem, obviously, is that unlike the metal outdoor sculptures like those of Alexander Calder, Tyree's works are made from very perishable bits and pieces. The only other workable alternative is to video/photo record the project; and enjoy it in person for as long as it still stands. I can't help but to think that the deterioration of his work (whether by purposeful arson) or by the "sands of time" wasn't entirely unexpected by Guyton and perhaps is a factor in the "on-going devolution" of the Heidelberg Project. | ||
Detroitpetanque Member Username: Detroitpetanque Post Number: 16 Registered: 09-2006 |
..as a side note: Sometimes the medium with which artists work is simply not the best choice for longevity. Sometimes due to lack of research or lack of funds a bad choice was made... take Jackson Pollack... he used basic housepaint on rough canvas (many times untreated). Much of his art is deteriorating (the paint eating away at the canvas, or simply peeling off - as housepaint will do after a while). Since his work has auctioned/sold for tens of millions of dollars, the musuems and art collectors pay major restoration money to restore his art - each drip and drizzle of paint attended to... tedious - expensive - and I daresay careless of the artist... but perhaps it wasn't his intention to have his work last for a century... Pollack was a bit of an abusive drunken mess. ...and so perhaps Tyree, in using found/donated materials, also factored in an eventual "self-destruction" of his work. |
