Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Mitch Cope


I just discovered the web site of Mitch Cope: http://www.mitchcope.com/. He's the artist who has gotten a lot of press recently about buying houses for nearly nothing in the worst part of Detroit and encouraging others to do the same. His photos of Detroit are amazing, and I love what he says about living in the city:

"...Detroit is a particular kind of place that demands utmost respect and attention, sort of like lion taming: it is not for everyone and it is not easy. Detroit is a beautiful, strong and passionate city, but it is also unpredictable and aggressive and therefore must be handled with the proper tools and caution. ... you will love Detroit, but you will also hate it, it's only natural."

I certainly have a love/hate relationship with the place. I mostly hate it, but also love it like you would a family member or old friend who's fallen on hard times. No matter how much I try to deny it, Detroit is a part of me. In spite of the fact that I originally ended up here by a cruel twist of fate, and returned here by another odd turn, Detroit is significant in my history, my memory, and my creative inspiration.

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

A great friend of mine Rhoda Stammek lives in Detroit and has wonderful photgraphs of it.
Seems like a sort of bittersweet place that has known better days.

Elizabeth said...

Stammel!

Tess Kincaid said...

Great photo. Is this one yours or Cope's? Interesting about the love/hate relationship many have for Detroit. Good to know you have embraced living there and it fuels your creative inspiration.

Hilarywho said...

Thanks Willow, the photo is mine.

MuseSwings said...

I was born in and lived in Detroit for many years and from many different perspectives as we moved from house to house. I loved the Detroit of my youth and have wonderful memories of what it once was. I stopped by via Elizabeth's blog. I saw the word "Michigan" and hopped on over.