Project M 2009 | Detroit

patrick swayze? dead at 57? i think not ...

2009-09-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

in fact, patrick swayze is alive, well, 23 and living in Marquette, Michigan. I saw him very recently and he was just fine.

2009-09-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

it's interesting that no matter how much thought you give to your goals, how much you dream about them or how much you want them to be real, the best way to achieve your goal is to just do it.

you shouldn't think about how your plan could fail, but rather, you should think about what you need to do in order for it to succeed. don't give yourself the option of failing. if negativity is out of sight it's not corrupting your path to completion. don't fear the reaper.

Plot 63...Let the games begin

2009-09-12T04:53:00.000-07:00

Check this out...more to come.

...

2009-09-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

there is something upon us ...

2009-09-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth aka Metropolis Girl wrote about us. Check it out: http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20090903/welcome-to-detroit

2009-09-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

so my rapid prototype from the other day, just for the sake of sharing, was a puzzle that demanded from its users a thought process that takes them beyond their usual realm of thinking.

i found discarded objects, displayed them, and encouraged people to find uses for them other than what they should be used for.

Some pieces were stolen, some people added suggestions on the sticky notepad for how these objects could be reused.

eventually someone made a big contraption out of the entire collection, unfortunately the site was cleaned up before i had a chance to photograph it.

cheers.

oh, and other random photos from the week. enjoy.

achille

Tossin' Shoes

2009-09-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Start Small, Build Incrementally

2009-09-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

M does not happen. Detroit, Happens! It's about their people, their communities, and their lives. It's not about us.

We've met with Tyree from the Heidelberg Project, Gina and Nina from the Powerhouse and Design 99, Ms. Allen from the Arts Place at Little Rock Family Center, and several other community leaders. We've learned that it takes time to do anything around here. And it must be done with hard work, time, and humility.

When we asked Gina about her "goals" for the Powerhouse, she slightly chuckled at the notion, but did respond with the modest plan: "create a stable neighborhood that we have no control over".

We often throw around the word "organic", but in Detroit things move slowly and they must be developed from the roots. Success and failure are not up to us. They are determined by starting small and building incrementally.

I have been truly lucky to meet new friends here in Detroit. I've spent three days in the North End, where, unfortunately, drugs and violence are an everyday reality. In an opposing light, these are the most real and genuine people. They don't mind sweeping their own streets when the city doesn't clean them.

With sleeves rolled up and shovels in hand much can be acheived.

Welcome to Detroit...

2009-09-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you met someone new? How do you know where to get a really good meal in a new city? How do you find that hidden gem in a place? How do you learn about a community? Go wander around...

Balloon Bombers

2009-09-03T05:41:00.001-07:00

It's nice to work together.
It's nice to be outside.
It's nice to make new friends.
It's nice when people see you struggle and lend a helping hand.
It's nice to be remembered.
It's nice to bomb a town with biodegradable balloons.
It's nice to look up.

Circumstance, substance and enhancement; engage

2009-09-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

what happens when you are unwilling to lend a hand to someone that needs it?

what happens when you are ‘glad to help’?

today project M took a step forward. when we arrived we were confused, excited, had an agenda and a schedule — we knew what we were going to say. but today i think the challenge a two-week long thinkwrong session in detroit presented humbled us. reality check. we woke up startled and without a purpose. why? we asked.

prototypes: We were told to find an audience, produce an idea and take it to said audience. timid and relying on instinct, we went out and did something. we found that whatever we did, many people wanted to know more. we grew more aware as they grew more aware. our prototypes were functional, but in a way that differed from what we expected. more of a means than an end. more of the Detroit City Charter than the Declaration of Independence.

i think these people bitch-slapped us into M’ers.

these people helped us find pulse.

then we struck gold. “there’s two ways to get a motha’ fucker’s attention — cut off his air, or cut off his money.” - John Loud, Project M dinner guest

… it doesn’t matter how, just get his attention.

function over(and?) form. i think tonight we became aware of what exactly it is we’re rallying around. tonight M’ers, i believe, also became Detroiters. and thinkers and hosts and horseshoe players and community leaders and cooks and …

we met incredible people and i feel like we know what we need to do. we are citizens because ability = responsibilty.

read this article about paradigm shift by Grace Lee Boggs -

http://www.boggscenter.org/fi-glb-08-29-09_paradigm_shift.html

-Achille

One person can make a change

2009-08-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

We spent some time at the Heidelberg Project today. A really amazing site. This is just a sampling. Check out more at http://www.heidelberg.org

Faces in a crowd

Some of the crew

Enjoy Detroit

-Jory

Hey Hey What Can I Do

2009-08-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? How did things get to be this way?

Detroit is unique. Unique in a way that I can’t explain yet. It’s prideful…and self-deprecating. It’s committed…and tuned-out. It’s hopeful, but it’s lost all hope. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so what happens when you get there?

Overwhelmed and open to understanding this place, we Mer’s went our separate ways, bound only by our own fears and perceptions of people and places. We walked, we spoke, we rode a train to nowhere, we listened, we tasted…damn good tacos, we were surprised, we played horseshoes, we watched it unfold, we lost it all. But at least we did it.

-Jory

2009-08-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

-Jory

Let’s Go To Work

2009-08-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

When a group of empathetic individuals come together with the energy to devise solutions to undeserved problems, it is our best chance to leave behind forces that can sustain on their own.

As an M’er, I hope to spark creative forces that are inherent of the culturally-rich city of Detroit, but are suffering from a lack of embrace. I am a first generation Indian-American-Michigander, which affords me a unique upbringing. India is my motherland, Detroit is my “mother-city”, and for all the nurturing Michigan has given its inhabitants, it is important for us to turn on the lights that were forced shut in these unfortunate times.

My hope for Project M Detroit is for its outcome to lead toward a “Renaissance”, which is embodied through the embrace of working cross-disciplinary as a healing process to solve problems. In our minds we may question, what’s the difference between design and engineering, or design and art. The truth is that it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the intention of the ingenuity.

When society treats Design as decoration, we demean its essence. The results of past and future Project M’s challenge these constructs by exposing more people to the values incorporated in design to show them beauty is not in the object, but in the depth of thought, science, and skill that goes into bringing new possibilities into the world to solve society’s unmet needs.

Project M Detroit is about creating tangible results. Something that takes time, hard work, and can be sustained by its citizens. We can inspire with our images and words, but incorporating the same communication in the form of an object can use the aspects of touch to help heal, inspire, and motivate. As a participant of Project M Detroit, I hope to work along with other empathetic, creative, and skilled individuals to leave a donation to the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan, and to future Project M’ers.

-Jasen

“Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus” (”We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes”)

2009-08-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mexican Town, Detroit (May 5th, 2009 - Jasen Mehta)

Papa Hobo
by Paul Simon

Mm------
Its carbon and monoxide
The ole Detroit perfume
It hangs on the highways
In the morning
And it lays you down by noon
Oh papa hobo
You can see that I’m dressed like a schoolboy
But I feel like a clown
It’s a natural reaction I learned
In this basketball town

Sweep up
I been sweeping up the tips I’ve made
I’m living on Gatorade
Planning my getaway
Detroit, Detroit
Got a hell of a hockey team
Got a left-handed way
Of making a man sign up on that
Automotive dream, oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh, papa papa hobo
Could you slip me a ride?
Well, it’s just after breakfast
I’m in the road
And the weatherman lied,
Oo-------, ah-----, oo-------

I was reading several articles/blogs about Detroit, and a few had several, well-written reader comments. Below I cut and paste some snippets of comments I read.

The people here are great... the politicians, not so much. But there is hope here, a vision shared by many Detroiters... how appropriate that the city's motto translates to, "We hope for better days; It shall rise from the ashes." (written in 1805) That is the lure.
Detroit once vied with New York as the most important town in America. Alas, that dream went away as racial animus, and the success of the union worker led to its own demise. The workers kids all became college grads and left - and bought foreign cars to boot.
Detroiters, both lifers and recent arrivals, sincerely love their city, for some very good reasons: it's quintessentially American, both in its history and its ethos, which prides hard work, entrepreneurship and optimism; much of what remains of it is architecturally stunning; it can claim the invention of three, perhaps four major genres of pop music; and its residents, despite withstanding decades of economic hardship and inhumanly cold winters, are terribly warm and friendly people, in a tough, earthy Midwestern sort of way.
If you're looking for a posh lifestyle where things are made easy, Detroit is not for you. But if you want to be a part of something bigger, helping to redefine a city that so much of the nation has given up on, Detroit should be one of your top considerations.
Detroiters have an "enormous self-esteem issue"
"they [Detroiters] are so passionate, and so committed"
"What people love about Detroit...what I love about Detroit...is that we can do something to change it, to make it better. They all want to be part of something bigger than themselves"
"...to dismiss this city that has been in an economic depression for many years...is terrible, and insensitive especially for all the wonderful people, that are just struggling to survive in a city that is scorned by the entire US."
Detroit does not have "they" problems; these are "we" problems that affect all Americans
poetic urban decay and poignant physical metaphor
"It is arguable that smaller grants spread widely throughout the Detroit art community would provide much more stimulus..." but, "Creating an elite group can be just as demoralizing as no support at all."
most frustrating aspect about metro Detroit for me has been the lack of a cohesive creative community
people in Detroit don’t exactly have a lot and tend to really appreciate what good does come there way
Sometimes I think maybe designers in Detroit can be bit too idealistic, but I would certainly rather be around that than people seeming to ignore the issues around them