RECOMMENDED Urban denizens are subjected to environs of decay, gentrification and post-industrialism on a daily basis. Buildings and warehouses begin to erode, affecting everyone in the city directly or indirectly. A group of artists share their perspective on the issue. New Jersey native Ben Polsky creates an ink replication of a broken down and crumbling factory. Object Orange is a collective based in Michigan that paints dilapidated homes orange in order to save them. Despite their efforts, they usually get torn down. They contribute remarkable photos of these orange homes bulldozed and the homes in wintertime with bleakness contrasted with brightness. John Felkner stencils words like “Broken Promises” on old buildings before they are torn down and recreates the images in the form of black and white silkscreens. Kyong Park supplies a satirical documentary on Detroit’s abandonment of its inner city citing corporations as the cause. The Wooster Collective screens a slide show of their graffiti enhanced 11 Spring Street Project. The best work is a photo collage from Caroline Voagen Nelson. She uses several photos of landmark Chicago buildings, including Cabrini Green and the Hancock, integrating ripped apart landscapes. Bits of color in the run down images indicate potential hope. (Garin Pirnia) Through October 20 at Lloyd Dobler Gallery
Repurposing AI: A Review of Stephanie Dinkins at Stamps Gallery While this show is timely for everyone, I consider its setting within a university art gallery and emerging tech hub like the city of Ann Arbor a subversive provocation which Dinkins invites the greater public—including members of the university community—to consider our own positionality to AI and technology.
