Form/Space Atelier For December 2008

Form/Space Atelier Program for December 2008

Show Title: Detroit: Arsenal of Democracy

Show Duration: December 12- January 4

Opening Reception December 12, 6PM

Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus
"We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes" (Detroit Motto)

This is the motto of the city of Detroit. I chose this place as a vantage point to observe what I felt to be the fulcrum of the vast transitions that have occurred in our country over the last half-century. The city of Detroit was at one time the fourth largest city in the US. With a peak population of over two million people in 1960 and one of the most powerful economies in the nation no one could have foreseen the forces that would lead to the flight of its inhabitants or the architectural legacy they would leave behind. One of the most striking things one observes upon viewing the city is the sheer ambition of the early architects and designers. Everywhere there are grand boulevards and granite archways. This was truly one of the great cities not just of our nation but of the world.
Now at the turn of a new century Detroit stands as a forgotten city. A place with just under half of its original populace. There are a number of staggering statistics that describe the Detroit of today:
The current population is 960,000 (down from 2,000,000)
Only twelve percent of this population is white.
There are more than a dozen abandoned skyscrapers in the downtown Detroit area.
Detroit has over 36,000 abandoned structures.
But these numbers cannot begin to describe the sense of desolation this city sometimes demonstrates. There were many occasions when I would stand still and realize that I was the lone person on a main street in the downtown core. I would look to my left and see a majestic building lying in rot. On my right would be another ruin and down the way I could make out more towering abandonments as I looked out over the skyline. I often felt that I was seeing the first crack in the walls of a crumbling empire. It is my attempt with this work to illuminate the story of this great city and invite us as a nation to reflect on the fate of its populace.


Dan Hawkins is a Seattle based photographer who is currently studying at the Photographic Center NW. He spends much of his time covering local events and is one of the photographers for the Seattle International Film Festival. His work has appeared in Real Change, On Screen Magazine and Film.com His personal work often deals with the dual themes of memory and decay.
About his focus on photographing abandonments he has this to say, "One day I was asked what used to be on a vacant lot on my street. It was then that I realized that I could not remember. I realized that my vision was being occluded and I wanted to see what was behind the curtain. I was asleep. This work began as my attempt to wake up. I tend to think there is more to learn from what people leave behind than from what they keep. Because of this I attempt to use these abandonments as a lens through which to view the human spirit.
Beginning with empty houses and discarded water towers he has gone on to document deserted nuclear facilities, chemical factories, decaying ballrooms, crumbling hotels, and a number of derelict mental hospitals and jails. Primarily using photography as a means to bring the isolation of these places to the viewer he has traveled the country in search of abandoned spaces. Working with a small network of associates he has managed to see many of the nations lost treasures of industry and tour its forgotten mental health legacy. He is currently working on a body of photographs from a recent trip to New England. An ongoing catalog of this work can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dghawkins90/