RUIN PORN

Detroit has an interesting image predicament. The majority of media coverage on Detroit's "situation" tends to focus on the obvious urban decay and blight. Especially for foreign audiences, seeing images of this once great city, long a model for American might and power, and now festering with abandonment, is an irresistible draw. People are voyeurs and the images of destruction and discard provoke amazement.

 Detroiters often complain that the way their city is portrayed is often through a narrow scope and does not tell the entire picture. This begs the question would Detroiters feel the same sense of surprise and amazement visiting other cities as people visiting Detroit feel for the first time? In other words, do people living in Detroit realize that things are so remarkably stark and different and would then understand the fascination with the level of decay in their city?

In an article in Vice magazine a local Detroit photographer and writer James explains the barrage of inquires he receives from press wanting to cover the decline of Detroit:  “At first, you’re really flattered by it, like, ‘Whoa, these professional guys are interested in what I have to say and show them.’ But you get worn down trying to show them all the different sides of the city, then watching them go back and write the same story as everyone else. The photographers are the worst. Basically the only thing they’re interested in shooting is ruin porn.”

Here is an article in the Detroit Free Press that expands on this:   RUIN PORN