I finished the Detroit Foreclosure Quilt yesterday. This one was a different situation than my previous pieces, it should really be called Detroit Demolished. I couldn't figure out why there were no foreclosures on the maps, it's because you had to look at aerial photos of the neighborhoods to see just what happened.
Most of the blocks are red because most of the homes have been razed after being abandoned for several years. There are an average of forty homes on each block and hundreds of them are completely gone. Here's an example of two of those blocks.
The city had no choice but to demolish them. Granted a lot of the people left Detroit because there also wasn't much employment leaving no one to buy up these homes. Much of Detroit looks like this. This neighborhood shown is just a few blocks from Grosse Point, a affluent, established neighborhood.
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| Detroit Foreclosure Quilt, 2011. 22" x 44" Cheesecloth, linen and cotton. |
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| Detroit Foreclosure Quilt detail, 2011. 22" x 44" Cheesecloth, linen and cotton |
The back of the quilt looks completely different from the front, the only lot lines I stitched were those adjacent to demolished homes. There are quite a lot of them.
To see more pictures of Detroit abandoned homes, click here. A really sad but true image of one of the US's most vibrant cities. To read more on foreclosures, click here.
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| Detroit Foreclosure Quilt back detail, 2011. 22" x 44" Cheesecloth, linen and cotton. |
11 comments:
Awesome to see one of them finished! You can feel the desolation a little.. Well done!
Chilling and powerful work, Kathryn. Interestingly, the piece itself looks like a city brick row home. Very well done.
This is wonderful and thought provoking work.
That really does illustrate the situation and adds amazing meaning to a quilt. Great job!
it turned out beautifully
it has a nice sense of decay
beautifully done.. and very powerful. so are those pics on flickr..
once demolished, it's a shame that the city can't go in and make green spaces, community gardens, something that could help the people left come together as a stronger neighborhood. we seem to be only capable of destruction, when there are so many opportunities to make things better.
Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! Anastasia, so true, and that's exactly what I plan to tackle in my next piece in Cleveland. They've replanted some lots with community gardens! It will be nice to add back an extra layer to the quilt!
Oh my, what a stunning piece Kathryn!
powerful, beautiful, thought-provoking.
wow,Kathryn..it's very very visual for me!Beautiful work and scary reality overthere!
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