A New Beginning

A Hiatus

Unfortunately, this project (due to unforeseen circumstance) will be taking a short hiatus. The individual artists have decided to pursue independent projects for the time being. (Check out Ben's blog, FREEBUNK.blogspot.com, for updated projects). This collage is how the painting would have looked on the building days before the hiatus was declared... and in the studio... the "final" version. Unfinished. In progress. To be continued...

555 Buena Vista Night Fundraiser

Not just a fund-raiser, but a FUN-draiser to boot... (check out these descriptions, first...) The Detroiter Mi Estilio 555 homepage Monte's mural and the backyard before party-time... Eric, Monte and Jane get ready to party, relaxing after all the preparations had been done... Out came the stars and lit up the stage... In the background, Detroit's abandoned Grand Central Station... Some people danced (Ethan is known, across the land, to get down...)... While others listened to live music indoors, ate great food and appreciated the art... I have no idea what's going on here. I know Erin was discussing wine with David. I think Jane is hiding... It was a beautiful night. In the background, far left, is the Ambassador Bridge, the only exit to Canada. A brand new walking bridge over the freeway connects 555 to Mexican Town, and the basketball hoops came with the place.

YART Sale

The Yes Farm had a Y'Art Sale. Kinda like a yard sale, but they sold Art. It was pretty fantastic. More info here. Ben made a flyer. And then we put things out in the street, for people to buy. Emily and Bridgette discuss something incredibly interesting while Jane searches for a price. Blake, there in the background, drank orange juice. Jane may have found the price. One can't be too sure...

The Sea Continues...

Jane's been mixing colors...

Creating Our Studio

from Tim's attic storage space, to a painting studio... ta da.

The First Cow, Spotted

Tuesday, April 12: After a long bike ride, we found a few buildings that we enjoyed and hope to incorporate into the project. This one, above, is on Chene Street. This one stands out in our minds as a perfect place to start: it stands directly across from the Peace Makers rehabilitation center, and on the same block as a Church that engages in community farming. A return to Chene, and an audience. The building below is on Gratiot Avenue. It's ginormous (giant & enormous) and is in pretty good shape. This will probably require permission, but we thought the space was too nice to not take a picture of, at least.

The Second Arrival

So...here we are. Back in Detroit, The Motor City of motor cities. The D. We find ourselves back at the Avalon, just a few hours off the train. Glad to be back.

April 8th is an important date.

Detroit, and the To Spot A Cow Project Proposal

Project Title: To Spot A Cow

Artists: Ben Bunk & Jane Orr

Detroit

For decades the city of Detroit has been in turmoil. At one point a landmark American destination, Detroit has slowly turned into the skeleton of a grand city as it, over the past thirty years, has lost jobs, people and government funding in monumental numbers due to various internal, national and global reasons. Detroit's infrastructure, once lined with beautifully crafted houses and bustling businesses, now supports blocks upon blocks of burnt, broken shells of households and dilapidated storefronts. The city that once symbolized hope for the American dream has fallen to greed, corruption & bad decisions on a national level. These amazing buildings and houses will one day be demolished or burnt, or “merely” remain unsafe eyesores to their respective communities, if nothing is done.

America is now being given a unique opportunity. A chance to redefine what a modern city means, as well as a chance to rethink what our history means to us as a country. And it has begun. People have been moving in, turning empty lots into farms and teaching communities to grow their own produce; artists have decorated the landscape, turning blank brick walls into canvases for colorful murals; bicyclists take advantage of this vast, flat landscape, helping to reduce our carbon footprint; and empty warehouses are becoming renovated into offices, studios, clubs- even movie theaters. With such a wealth of resources, it seems absurd that the only method of progress is demolition. Keeping these buildings safe, while maintaining their beauty and encouraging future use, is a step towards preserving one of our country's finest cities while simultaneously moving forward.

The following project is meant to not only beautify these neighborhoods, but also call attention to the past that these windows saw. Through plywood: symbolically preserving a memory, literally preserving a history.

The Project: To Spot a Cow.

We will be installing painted sheets of plywood into windows of abandoned buildings along various Detroit streets. These sheets of plywood will be painted by various groups of people, depicting traditional folklore with uplifting messages, and thus will serve as both an arts education opportunity as well as a community beautification (and safety) project. Funding will be provided by charitable donations, through a fund raiser where interested parties (both individuals and businesses) are given the opportunity to "buy" stock- in this case, a window- in Detroit. Their donations will fund the materials for their window, and the window's progress can be monitored via a project-oriented blog.

This is not a solution to the problem, but it is a step in diluting it. Help us preserve the past and the future of this landmark city…with plywood... one building at a time.

Deals, Discounts & Donations

> $20/ window

> $50/storefront window; mural

> $5/ custom signage