On the last day of our trip home we wanted to check out an open-air art piece called The Heidelberg Project. To put it simply, it is a collection of found items, painted houses and augmented scenery that exists on a few streets in East Detroit created by local resident and artist Tyree Guyton. It was an amazing sight and a must-see for anyone who visits Detroit. The project had made a decent amount of press so I had read quite a bit before visiting and I was expecting a very uplifting, colorful experience. What I experienced was something quite different.

Maybe it was the emotional drain that we felt while driving through block after block of devastation over the past few days. Maybe it was putting too many eggs in the basket of hope that someone had created something that was full of positive energy. Maybe it was that it was cold and snowy and empty. I’m not sure what it was but the experience was jarring. It was beautifully uncomfortable which mirrored the trip as a whole. It was an expression of art that was so truly unique and particular to the area that it was hard to place yourself comfortably. For me, it was very exciting to see and experience artwork that affected me this way. Art has become something so predictable that I didn’t know what it felt like to be a part of an installation that made me ask a million little questions. A collection of formally function items smashed and contorted together into a colorful and dizzying half-nightmare. It was overwhelmingly memorable.

My mother had a tough time processing the Project as a whole. As we sifted ourselves through this sprawling exhibit in the heart of inner city East Detroit it was very difficult for her to find a happy place in it. It was the last place we planned to dig into before the airport and I think we were both looking for a happy ending after to such an emotional draining but necessary trip. The reality is that this wasn’t a happy ending because this isn’t the end. This is simply a chapter in a much larger story. The Heidleberg Project was a perfect summary to the emotional narrative that we journeyed through. As troubled as it was in the 80′s, Detroit was home and it was beautiful. It was now something a little scary and foreign. The beauty in that is that all it takes to feel less scared around something a little foreign is to get to know it better. So that’s what we’ll do.

The Heidleberg Project forces you to ask the question “What is this and where am I right now?”. We should ask ourselves this question every single day. Re-inventory your path, inspect what is foreign and never be scared to feel uncomfortable for a little while. The snow will melt, the sun will rise and the grass will grow once again.

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This was a video I found online that did a good job of peeling the onion a bit. Take a few minutes and check it out. I especially liked what professor Aku Kadogo had to say.

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