G O D C L U B

I can't help my apathy for the art that I see in Detroit lately, or just living in Detroit in general and how bleak things really are around here. But here is a recap of some shows I have seen lately. Some good, some bad.

Yes Farm

Yes Farm is actually pretty great. I was confused by a lot of the art and I wish I would have known who was running it so I could have asked questions, but over all the space is really cool. It's in a house and you walk through rooms and there is art all over. There is also a performance space. I didn't see any of the performances but I was told they were cool. It seems like a 'community' place that wasn't just young white people taking over a neighborhood and actually not including the neighborhood. There were people who lived close-by who made food, and their kids were there hanging out. Also, they have a community garden.

Design 99

Design 99's new space is a lot better than the last one, but I am still confused as to how they stay in business when they don't have that much stuff in their store (they might start carrying Wowzer's Meowzers cat toys). I didn't really know anything about Stupor the 'zine the show was about, but I really like what I saw/read. The dude who writes the 'zine had Detroit artists design covers for the issues he was selling during the show, and the one I bought was only $1.50. Also it was a beer and chip reception, which I appreciate.

Detroit Artist Market

The Artist Market is one of the only galleries in town that always has a huge turnout for their openings and where I always see work being sold, and people buying stuff from their shop. To be honest I was there to see the art, but also to see how they had my cat toys displayed (in a glass bowl, it's pretty great). This is an all media exhibit, there was some interesting work. Something I am confused about lately is why I keep going to shows and photos that are blatantly, unembarrasingly manipulated in Photoshop win awards.

Cpop

The end of an era? Not to me. I keep having weird conversations with people on why I don't like Cpop and I don't really care that they are closing (or not really closing?). I don't care about kitsch art, or pop art. Aren't people over it yet? There is an age group that I think will never get over it and have never looked beyond the art that is shown in Cpop and don't think there is anything beyond that sort of art. To me it's not that interesting, and there is never anything new shown or done with it. I don't dislike everything shown at Cpop, and when I was 17 I thought it was the coolest place ever, but I got over it pretty quickly. The whole time I was there I felt like I was having a panic attack and that I was trapped forever inside a Niagara painting. I'm not saying I like seeing galleries close, but galleries close all the time in real cities, it's not the end of the world.

In Conclusion

There are always new venues and art spaces popping up all over Detroit. They usually don't last that long. People who run these places really need to get together and think of ways that they can make their spaces more sustainable and where people will actually come to the shows, and they can somehow make money and stay open.