Pointe of Art
Removing the "ving" from Starving Artist
10/03
by Robert Maniscalco
While the arts in Detroit have flourished creatively
amid the persisting state of ruin in the city, this
intense purity has not tended to put money into the
hands of the artists. Those with means in Detroit,
along with a number of our major cultural institutions,
have traditionally suffered from a satellite mentality
which prompts them to look to New York or some other
place for the purchase of their cultural treasures.
The grass roots seem always to be greener somewhere
else. But Detroit's culture must come from within
if it is to be authentic, if it is to be truly ours.
That will ultimately require Detroit to come to terms
with itself, zits and all.
If culture is a reflection of the people, our past,
our present, then we, the artists need to make that
connection. Some local artists are committed to the
people of Detroit, the people of Southeast Michigan.
As many of you well know, I'm a big fan of artists
and the miraculous nature of the creative process.
I believe the arts are a reflection of our society,
our teacher. These are the heroes. So today my focus
is on the "star" in starving artist.
That's the point behind my new TV series, ART BEAT,
which can be seen most Saturdays at 2 pm on WTVS Channel
56. The show is an insider's look into the process
of working artists, revealing how they create the
work we see on the walls of Detroit's top exhibition
venues. Shot entirely on location, each half-hour
episode spotlights a local artist whose work is powerful
and innovative. Among the artists to be featured in
coming weeks are Robert Sestock, who was one of the
original Cass Corridor group, Gilda Snowden, abstract
expressionist and mentor and Jerome Feretti, whose
witty sensibility infuses his edgy, urban work. Check
out a recent article about the show in the Free Press,
written by Frank Provanzano: http://www.freep.com/entertainment/tvandradio/abeatx5_20030905.htm.
Of course, the show will never be able to fully capture
the full diversity and depth of the visual art being
produced in Detroit. Detroit artists cannot be neatly
categorized or compartmentalized. The sheer creative
energy coming out of the art community can be evidenced
as artist enclaves and new exhibition spaces are popping
up everywhere. Along with the more established artists
loft spaces like the Scarab Club, the Pioneer and
the Atlas Buildings, new spaces like 4731 Grand River,
Brooklyn 2000 and now the Bohemian Center are churning
out brilliant work by many of Detroit's most talented
artists. Indeed, these are exciting times, creatively,
for Detroit.
The challenges of developing a national identity
for Detroit art, however, is a far trickier proposition,
one with which the Detroit Artists Network (http://www.waynearts.org)
is currently grappling. The question is: how do you
put a face on diversity? Clearly, the abundance of
creative energy itself is the chief distinction about
which Detroiters can truly brag.
But how do those outside Detroit view us? In my travels,
I have found most people think of Detroit as raw,
chaotic and dilapidated. While not a very attractive
combination of adjectives to mainstream tastes, whose
idea of a destination is a Caribbean island or an
enclosed shopping mall, this image is a source of
mystery and wonder to those who appreciate art as
a reflection of authentic human experiences. The real
Detroit culture has never been the sugar-coated, slick
image the PR firms have tried to ease down our throats.
Like it or not, Detroit is raw, rude and driven. This
rough-hewn image flies in the face of a society which
insists on making everything "normal," whatever
that is. What makes Detroit great is our diversity,
our grit, and our creative will.
I'd like to rattle off a few stars of Detroit's art
scene. Detroit is lucky to have such indigenous artistic
voices as Vito Valdez, Chris Turner, Gilda Snowden,
Robert Sestock, Tyree Guyton and Jim Pallas. But it
should also be noted we are also attracting artists
who have moved to Detroit BECAUSE of the gritty authenticity
that distinguishes our city. Two such talents are
Renata Palubinskus and Sacha Eckes. Of course, there
are far too many artists of distinction to mention
here; suffice it to say Detroit is not without Star
quality artists. What we seem to lack is the confidence
and perspective to recognize a good thing when we
see it. After all, fine artists will continue to have
a hard time being taken seriously when 90% of the
population thinks of art as an "accent"
in the twinkle of a decorator's eye. That will change
as more Detroit artists commit to ditching the "ving"
in "starving artist" and find the courage
to step into the light.
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