Dtroit – at GAS

Date/Time: 13/01/2004 12:00 am

Gigantic Art Space, 59 Franklin Street, NY, NY 10013
212.226.6762 www.giganticartspace.com
Dtroit
December 11 2003 – January 31 2004
Introduction:
D Troit is an exhibition of contemporary art, film and music that examines the creative culture of Detroit in the wake of its troubled history. In the first half of the twentieth century Detroit was the model of the modern industrial city, a booming metropolis drawing a new labor force of poor southerners and immigrants in search of good paying jobs in the automobile industry. But the brutal combination of “white flight” from the city to the suburbs beginning in the 1950s and escalating after the 1967 race riots, the recession of the 1970s and the decline of the automotive industry transformed Detroit from a thriving community into an architectural shell of desolation and decay. Within this failed utopia of racial tension, economic segregation and urban neglect, a vibrant new generation of artists and musicians have quietly developed individual aesthetic languages that reflect the multilayeredhistory of their home. They are the cultural residue of the city affectionately knownas “Motown,” “The Motor City,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Techno City” or simply “The D.”
See QT movie of opening night. Requires Quicktime.
See Playlists/Mixes from Mike Rubin’s installation. “313 Jukebox”
Curatated by Trevor Schoonmaker:
Trevor Schoonmaker is an independent curator and art consultant living in Brooklyn, New York. He earned an MA in History of Art from the University of Michigan where he became acquainted with the city of Detroit. Trevor has curated several exhibitions including The Magic City at Brent Sikkema (2000 NYC); Looking In for LMCC (2002 NYC); and Black President: The Art and Life of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti at the New Museum of Contemporary Art (2003 NYC).
 
Participating Artitsts:
Andrew Dosunmu
Doug Coombe
Kenjji
Mark Dancey
Mark Powell
Susan Cook
Thom Klepach
Thomas Rapai
Tyree Guyton