LIFE Magazine Photos of Detroit

[Eastside]

Take a look and let the comments fly!



http://www.life.com/image/ugc1029432/in-gallery/36682/

[BShea]

My first thought is: I thought Life magazine was out of business.

Second: Those are some beautiful, sad photos.

Third: This is all Albert Kahn's fault. If he hadn't designed so many buildings ...

Fourth: If you have a post-apocalyptic war, monster or other film to shoot, we've got the locations and incentives for you.

[kryptonite]

Bummer. Everything is not perfect here. I'm so glad Life made me aware that our economy is not booming and our factories, hotels, office buildings, homes, car washes and liquor stores are not all filled to capacity and thriving.

Bummer again.

[Cooper]

You'd think a magazine called Life could find a single living person or development in Detroit. Apparently not though -- just ruined buildings, classic cars, and famous Detroiters who now live in distant suburbs or other states.

I wouldn't mind so much if they weren't in denial about their own project. The ruins album claims that:

"Marlowe's photographs, then, are not so much about the "ruins" as about the swagger, certainty, and nerve of a city capable of creating such glories in the first place, and the hope that old-school Detroit audacity has not entirely vanished."

If the photos aren't really about the ruins, why are all 63 shots of rubble and decay?

[gnome]

63 pages of stuck-together ruin porn.

[jonathanlivingstonseagull]

The Belle Isle pictures are disturbing.

What is the abandoned hotel they keep showing? Some of the photos look staged.

[Meddle]

Life After People.

[Traxus]

Life is no longer a magazine, just a website. They are here on behalf of Time in Indian Village.

I'm a little upset, though not surprised, that they chose the dreariest photos they could find to upload.

I know the photographer personally, and he has some better shots of the city, but they obviously selected their palette with a portrait already in mind. It's also a little grinding that they sent a photographer from New York to cover the ruins of Detroit, but I'm glad a friend got some money and exposure out of it.

From an artist stand point, I find a lot of the images boring, lacking in any merit beyond 'holy shit look at this'. Perhaps this is just a sign of an over developed sense of taste in ruins porn, although most of Life's galleries are pretty dull in terms of a photographic eye (they're no National Geographic, I'll put it that way).

The guy who took these photos is more treating photography as an extreme sport (for better or worse). He was recently shipped off to Haiti to cover the Earthquake, which deserves merit just for living amongst that chaos for a week (although it further confirms Life's hard-on for disaster/ruins porn).

You can see that gallery here: http://www.life.com/image/first/in-g...tness-in-haiti

[lizaanne]

That had to be the most depression way to spend a lunch break I can imagine. How horribly sad. I guess some things you just never get back do you. No matter how hard anyone tries, the beauty that the city WAS will never be again. A new beauty perhaps, but never what it once was. To me that is sadness - if only preservation could have won out over greed. Ideas over power. Progress over lies.

[mikeg19]

Well thank God they didn't portray Detroit in a bad light! (It's too bad you can't convey sarcasm over a computer)

[wazootyman]

Pictures of the ruins of Detroit? How original. I commend the author for having the guts to explore such a unique concept!

When real journalism or an effort to find a positive story of neighborhood revival or entrepreneurship "sounds like a lot of work", this is what is published. It's exploiting an already-bad situation, and does nothing but drive the city's image deeper into the ground.

[kryptonite]

My bad, but it must be the 70's/80's hallucinogens that I used - but I thought that along with the ruins and abandonment that Detroit included some places as the Fisher Bldg, the Guardian Bldg, the DIA, the DFT, the Fox Theater, the MOT, the Redford Theater, the Masonic Temple, Bonstelle/Hilberry, Sweetest Heart of Mary, Trinity Lutheran, St. Joseph, WSU, a gorgeous river, Greektown, some beautiful hotels, some fun casinos, sports arenas, quaint old restaurants and pubs, music venues, etc.

God, now I realize I was hallucinating all of those places. Life Rag has opened my eyes to reality, there is nothing here!

[detroitbob66]

Originally Posted by jonathanlivingstonseagull

The Belle Isle pictures are disturbing.

What is the abandoned hotel they keep showing? Some of the photos look staged.

That is the old Hotel Fort Wayne aka American Hotel in the Cass Corridor....I was just there recently

[Eastside]

Is it me or are have all these "ruin" shots taken over the years by various publications and news outlets become quite boring and cliché?

There is noting new (no pun intended) in them, rubble from different angles, falling down buildings and the like. Hell, this type of stuff can be found across the country in large and small cities.

[jonathanlivingstonseagull]

Originally Posted by Eastside

Is it me or are have all these "ruin" shots taken over the years by various publications and news outlets become quite boring and cliché?

There is noting new (no pun intended) in them, rubble from different angles, falling down buildings and the like. Hell, this type of stuff can be found across the country in large and small cities.

I agree. Especially all of the interior shots. You could swap those shots out with an abandoned building in any other city. Boring ...

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by mikeg19

Well thank God they didn't portray Detroit in a bad light! (It's too bad you can't convey sarcasm over a computer)

You can. The SarcMark:

[rjlj]

Agreed, tiresome to say the least. A lot of those shots are the same shots done over and over by people who break into these buildings around town every weekend. Not to mention a lot of those shots were staged. Boring.

[Traxus]

Originally Posted by rjlj

Agreed, tiresome to say the least. A lot of those shots are the same shots done over and over by people who break into these buildings around town every weekend. Not to mention a lot of those shots were staged. Boring.

I tend to agree, a lot of images these days look like someone walked in with a point and shoot with no regard for framing or composition. There is a very broad line between the voyeuristic adventurist and the artist in the ruins...

[Lowell]

If this had been the 1940's or 50's that presentation would have been devastating, but as Bshea above put it "My first thought is: I thought Life magazine was out of business" kind of sums of Life's [in]significance.

One has to admire the photographer's trespass skills.

Life is dead, Detroit lives on.

[Mipade]

Originally Posted by Traxus

Life is no longer a magazine, just a website. They are here on behalf of Time in Indian Village.

That's West Village actually.

And yes, more ruin porn. Just what is needed...

[Wintersmommy]

there is a picture of a covered bridge on belle isle...where on the island is this bridge?

[lilpup]

It's on the northeast corner of the island - inside of the ring road - in the Lake Muskoday area opposite the Yacht Club.

You can see it clearly as part of the golf course on the aerial view of the island on maps.bing.com

[Wintersmommy]

Originally Posted by lilpup

It's on the northeast corner of the island - inside of the ring road - in the Lake Muskoday area.

I will have to check that out..thank you

[lilpup]

[MaxDetroit]

The only real point of these dime-a-dozen "WOW, Look How Bad it is in Detroit!!!" hit pieces is to make people feel better about the problems festering in their own backyards, leaving the reader/writer/photographer with a feeling of smug satisfaction. No matter how bad things are *here* we're better than Detroit.

[Goose]

the belle isle pic and description makes it sound like this is the bridge to get to the island.... the belle isle bridge....

[keith marlowe]

Hello.

I took the photos in that Life gallery. I've taken a lot of heat from Detroiters over it, and I feel much of it is justified. I never wanted to do a gallery of ruin porn, and had pitched a gallery of ALL the buildings in Detroit. Not only is that a more accurate representation of the city, but I feel it also helps illustrate the abandoned structures more clearly. I spent weeks shooting many of Detroit's beautiful, still functioning, buildings, including the Renaissance Center, the Fisher, Guardian, Fox, Opera Hall, etc. I was unhappy when I saw the edit of my work, but that is not something I had any control over. I am a photographer, not an editor. That was weeks of work down the drain for me.

To address a couple lies people keep spreading about my work...

None of those shots are staged by me. Many of them were probably staged by other explorers, but I did not set up a single one of those shots.

People are upset that the job did not go to a Detroit native. I also had nothing to do with that decision, but I did my best to get locals involved. I worked hard to get my friend that runs the Onlyndetroit website a video with my gallery, and also hooked him up with Time magazine and they have given him several jobs. So one more person in Detroit has a job because of me.

I also tried to involve a local photographer I admire, and was willing to sacrifice some of the space on my gallery to get him exposure. He injured himself in some stupid non-photographic activities right before the shoot, and his lack of involvement is completely his fault. I did everything I could to get him involved, and ended up looking foolish to my editors when I had to announce he was not able to contribute to the project, after I had lobbied hard to get him involved.

As natives to the city, I am sure you have seen many photos like mine before. I've been shooting in Detroit for over a decade, I've seen a lot of them too. Having said that, you have no right to lie and claim that I staged any of these shots. It's really easy to hide behind a computer and spread hurtful slander. It's harder to do a little research and know what you are talking about.

Here is my e-mail: keithmarlowe@mac.com

If you have any questions and comments why don't you contact me directly before posting.

Thanks,
Keith Marlowe

[gnome]

ah, those pesky editors mess up a guy's vision every time; sounds very frustrating. Your feelings must hurt because those editors really compromised your post-industrial vision of a Dickensian tale of two cites. Must be tough to have your feelings hurt to such an extent that you are compelled to tell us.

I get it.

So, Keith, how about this... those evil editors must have names. Maybe they even have phone numbers or, since it is a new century and all, even emaill addresses. I would think if you feel really bad about their hatchet job, you'd share that info here.

Of course, if you're not really upset about the whole thing, I can understand your post is just a palate cleansing, can-kicking, finger-pointing, blame-the-other-guy dodge.

[East Detroit]

Originally Posted by keith marlowe

Hello.

I took the photos in that Life gallery. I've taken a lot of heat from Detroiters over it, and I feel much of it is justified. I never wanted to do a gallery of ruin porn, and had pitched a gallery of ALL the buildings in Detroit. Not only is that a more accurate representation of the city, but I feel it also helps illustrate the abandoned structures more clearly.

Big deal. You wanted contrast of the great buildings against the ruined ones to help highlight the ruined ones. We owe you an apology or sympathy?

You specialize in pictures of ruins. Including staged ones.

Life even linked to your website that has a decidedly negative tone to it.

http://web.mac.com/keithmarlowe

"about me: i’m the greatest"

Greatest what?

[Eastside]

Originally Posted by keith marlowe

... you have no right to lie and claim that I staged any of these shots. It's really easy to hide behind a computer and spread hurtful slander. It's harder to do a little research and know what you are talking about.

Lie, who lied? Opinions were shared by some that many of the shots appeared to be staged.

Lied? Come on!

[PQZ]

Wait wait wait, let me get this straight...y'all are carping about about photos of abandoned buildings on this website?

Yer yanking my f'n chain. The original name for this website was "The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit". Yer man Lowell made his mark on the innerwebs by posting exactly the same sort of ruins porn.

Half of you jizz your pants over Southen's and Blogger Johns photos of decay and urban grittiness.

And now because an outsider portrays the same thing, the poodles are going to shit the kitchen floor.....

[DC48080]

Some people just can't handle the truth.

There are a lot of abandoned and decaying buildings in Detroit. (And so all of you knee-jerk types don't get worked into a lather: yes, other cities have them too). But let's face it, the horrible decline of a once great city (now don't get worked up into a lather about this either) is newsworthy and is of interest to people around the country.

Good things do happen in Detroit, but that doesn't mean that the negative should be ignored either.

Don't go damning the messenger, Keith, because you don't like the message. He was given an assignment by Life magazine and he did his job. If the editors chose to omit the positive that is not his fault. Some people on this site are so quick to attack anyone whose opinion is not in sync with their own.

[p1acebo]

To be honest I have seen better ruin photos of Detroit anyways, not to dump on Keith even more so. Just being an honest critic.

[gnome]

Exactly, p1ace, the work presented by Life is exceedingly derivative, uninspired, awkwardly unoriginal and just plain old "done before"; even the brown stained PDQ laments that Lowell did the same thing more than 10 years ago.

There just isn't any story there. Nothing new, save a distant single shot of the Jane Cooper, all the subjects are 20 or more years old. In the case of the Packard, ...1957. Jeeze. Stale.

I'm glad for Keith that he's been able to craft a career from his hipsterdoofus act, but I guess that plays as good in NYC.

Shows to go ya.

And what is this with dorksters named Keith lately? Every other Doc Johnson inspired thread seemingly has something to do with a Keith.

[swingline]

Gotta go with PQZ on this one. Mr. Marlowe's explanation is satisfactory. Critics should post on the Life website. Maybe even link to some "non-ruin" photography.

[lilpup]

Originally Posted by PQZ

Wait wait wait, let me get this straight...y'all are carping about about photos of abandoned buildings on this website?

Yer yanking my f'n chain. The original name for this website was "The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit". Yer man Lowell made his mark on the innerwebs by posting exactly the same sort of ruins porn.

Half of you jizz your pants over Southen's and Blogger Johns photos of decay and urban grittiness.

And now because an outsider portrays the same thing, the poodles are going to shit the kitchen floor.....

Naw, I think everybody's really carping about the overall tenor the TIME project has sustained (at least the online portions of it).

Blogger John focuses on the common man and the everyday more than anything in his blog - something TIME hasn't done well.

BTW, if any are interested, Detroit Symphony top dog Leonard Slatkin wrote in his current blog that he's going to start including a Detroit grace note in his monthly writing since the city gets other wise hammered so badly ~ though seeing as he recently suffered a heart attack himself, the Pistons' Spare Tires didn't go over too well with him this time ~ http://leonardslatkin.com/

Did y'all know the Symphony's recording with Bela Fleck & Co. was Grammy nominated this year? They didn't win, but still...

[English]

Ah, Detroit. You never cease to tickle me.

Did we REALLY think we were gonna get a fair shake from TIME LIFE? Michigan is a backwoods flyover state to TPTB on the coasts. Always has been, in a way.

Then again, it is the mainstream media. I thought that the purpose of the news was to inform. What we have today is infotainment.

[ggcanfield]

I'm not sure that I agree with Swingline that Mr. Marlowe's explanation is satisfactory, but I do agree that critics should go post on Life's site and link to better things. People from outside of Detroit may be more likely to see comments there than here - no reason not to post in both places. Don't forget to mention Assignment: Detroit's outstanding contribution to groundbreaking Detroit coverage while you're there. (What was that sarcasm sign again?)

[lilpup]

Originally Posted by keith marlowe

People are upset that the job did not go to a Detroit native. I also had nothing to do with that decision, but I did my best to get locals involved. I worked hard to get my friend that runs the Onlyndetroit website a video with my gallery, and also hooked him up with Time magazine and they have given him several jobs. So one more person in Detroit has a job because of me.

It's less about the job and more about who has a connection to place, who knows and loves it and how that shows in the work. You people still don't seem to understand the notion that life and work aren't all about money.

[keith marlowe]

you know, everybody keeps calling me an outsider. I grew up in Cleveland and have been hanging out in Detroit since before I could drive. I've spent my life in Cleveland, Akron, Pittsburg, Youngstown, Toledo, Detroit, Gary, Chicago.....you know the list, shooting abandoned buildings. Plenty of other people have done it too. We're all from the busted Midwest. And at least your sports teams win a championship once in awhile. Cleveland has never won shit in my lifetime.

Detroit is, and always has been, one of my favorite places. I lobbied hard for this job because I wanted to spend time there. And I know a lot of people are upset I'm not from Detroit, but seriously, I guarantee you I wouldn't have gotten the job if I had spent my time sniping at people on message boards over bullshit instead of working on my photography and e-mailing editors.

I got the job because I wanted it the most. It didn't turn out the way I wanted, but I still did the best I could. And I'm not hiding behind some online alias, talking shit anonymously. I'm willing to talk to anyone that has something to say, face to face. And I'll be back in Detroit in April, so if anyone is really that upset, I'm sure you can figure out where to find me, since I'm so predictable.

See ya later,
Keith Marlowe

[sumas]

Thank you for posting Keith. I know what you mean about editing. I used to write historical blurbs for a local paper. The editors would hack and slash thereby making my research and writing to be historically inaccurate. I stopped bothering to write for them.

[sumas]

It is sad however that Life chooses to dwell on the dismal. I expect to find joy and beauty in the people I meet everywhere I go... and I do. There are so many positive stories and delightful people here. I find inspiration daily. Maybe your editors should post a thread looking for those stories. I could nominate so many people and organizations that it could fill a book. I am sure many other forumers could do the same.

[Roq]

Originally Posted by keith marlowe

And I'll be back in Detroit in April, so if anyone is really that upset, I'm sure you can figure out where to find me, since I'm so predictable.

See ya later,
Keith Marlowe

Awesome post. I don't understand the grief you're getting here...countless people take pictures of Detroit (including the owner of this website) and really, who gives a fuck if you were born here or not?

[Lowell]

Welcome to the forum Keith and thank you for taking the time to explain your position. And welcome back in April. I hope to meet you sometime.

I enjoyed the tour and was particularly fond of the Belle Isle golf course bridge. I find the comments of insider vs. outsider as specious as I find any claims regarding originality, staging or whatever beside the point and unprovable. The only thing that counts in my book is the visual image and you are clearly a very accomplished photographer.

The context into which they were placed is what is creating the controversy here and, as Keith has explained, was something outside his control. Now the messenger is being shot. Maybe we could all do a little with Henry Ford's axiom, "Never complain, never explain."

Life and Time, like many other media outlets, have a difficult time moving beyond, "Gee ain't it awful," to providing insight to causes, solutions and lessons to be learned -- something we have been digging for on this forum for the past decade, an awareness that Keith with his posts and background shows us he understands. It is far easier for media to report on a plane wreck than reporting on ten thousand planes landing safely and I think that is what happened here.

[Traxus]

Keith, it has been brought to my attention that my comments have hit you harder than they should have. I'm not going to say that I wasn't trying to be at all critical of you, because I am and hold no shame in that. However, in my attempt to throw a punch at the entire operation, you caught more heat than you deserved. You'll understand that there is a lot of frustration among the locals regarding the coverage, and whenever there is a face to attribute to this story it becomes hard to separate an individual from the bureaucracy.

Let me put it this way, it's like the Yankees are in town, and your on the starting lineup. I want to see you hit a home run and do well, but I don't want the Yankees to win at the expense of my home team. This analogy is slightly off point, because in theory there exists a world where Time covers the city and doesn't beat out tired stereotypes, though none of us were surprised when this middle ground wasn't met. Point is, I'm happy that you're making something of your work, even if the totality is a principle I disagree with. Naturally, the end result wasn't what you had envisioned, most of us can understand, but at the same time we as a community are not going to allow you to remove yourself entirely and, friend or not, I'm going to be an honest critic. This may or may not be the first time you've felt the blunt end of hometown pride before, so give me a minute to explain the mentality. Take for instance this photo, or more specifically the caption:



I bit my lip knowing that you may not have meant this the way it was taken, but the way it was perceived displays a very weak sense journalistic integrity. Had anyone else said this, I would have been prompted to say 'please, get the hell out'. We know the editors did the dirty with your photo selection, but where pray is the copy editing? It basically sums up Time/Life's approach to Detroit as a whole: we don't want to touch the real issues with a 10 foot pole. For someone who, by many standards is an outsider, to put remarks like these on a national syndication, you have to expect some heat.

On the flip side, regarding everyone's comments about Marlowe being an out of towner, you all seem to overlook that he has taken the time to sign up for the forum and engage with the locals about their commentary on the coverage. Let me clarify, he is the only representative of this entire operation to have the balls to engage in this discussion. He did not come by mine or Lowell's or anyone else's notification, he arrived on his own accord. For that, he deserves more than the three liner cheap shots from the peanut gallery that have flooded this thread for the last day or so, and expecting him to surrender the contact information of his superiors is outright stupid. Why don't you step into a mess, regarding your dream job, that you could have avoided, and then drag your bosses into the fray?

To try and chase him away form a place where he and his colleagues could learn the real story is paradoxical to our goals, and the personalization of our frustrations is, for the most part, undue. With that being said, lets extend an open invitation to any other Time/Life corespondents who may be lurking these forums to join the discussion.

[Blarf]

Someone actually got paid to take and package these photos?

I could name 10 people right off the top of my head on Flickr who take better photographs than this guy. Exposure and composition must not have been important.

[gnome]

you know, everybody keeps calling me an outsider. ... And I know a lot of people are upset I'm not from Detroit...

I've read through this thread and I do not see a deluge of carpetbagger comments. Where are they? I've been able to find a few aside mentions but not a single screed. Maybe someone could point put my error? The vast majority of complaints center on the unimaginative, boorish treament of the subject.

In fact, I for one kind of gave you a bit of a pass for being a hipster doofus from NYC. I assumed you'd been carted around by your Detroit sherpa and they took you to all the same places everyone else goes to. I had no idea you consider yourself a bit of a native. So you "lobbied hard" to get the gig but seemingly didn't work hard to provide a fresh approach. And this is from a guy who sez, "Detroit is, and always has been, one of my favorite places".

That's the best you can do? Snap shots that lap up the posed poignancy staged by others? Your own words say you suspected " Many of them were probably staged by other explorers", so you own admission proves the point many folks have made, that your work is derivative and expected. So, you go to all the usual haunts, retake the same pictures a thousand other hipster wannabes have taken, you get paid to do so and now you complain your consuming public finds them to be exactly what they are:

boring and predictable. Not touching, soulful, insightful, telling or even artfully framed. Pedestrian. White bread. Safe. Stale. And done to death.

[kryptonite]

I personally did not see a thing in the many photos that was ground-breaking. They appeared to me to just be repeats of a blah-zay genre of photos of decaying Detroit. Ho-hum.

Maybe LIFE editing staff saw something wonderful because they are not bombarded with these types of photos. I agree with some of the others that found the captioning of the photos to be a bit derogatory toward the city.

Maybe the average LIFE reader will find it all fresh and appealing. I doubt many people blogging on DetroitYes will find it anything but mundane and uninspiring.

I am not a professional judge of photographic arts, maybe these photos are in reality avant-garde and of superior taste. If that is the case then most of the photo-posters on this web site are potential Pulitzer Prize winners.

Detroit has been done yet another disservice by the media. A true article would be the areas of urban improvement and Detroits's remaining traditional charms, however few they may be. THAT, if published, would be a break from tradition.

[English]

Keith, if you're interested in dialogue with Detroiters, you have to realize that many of us behind these screen names lead, work, or volunteer with area organizations, business, and entities that ARE on the ground in the city trying to make a difference. So you can't assume that everyone who posts here is doing nothing besides surfing the Internet. (In fact, because I know many of the people here, I find your insinuations pretty amusing.)

If you're interested in talking with people here, I am sure that there are forumers who would be happy to have you as a guest at one of our many local civic organization's meetings upon your return in April. However, as I read your posts, I wonder: are you interested in dialogue, or hearing the perspectives of others? As a new scholar, criticism of my work is par for the course, even criticism that I believe is unjustified. It is expected. Although I may not like it, it sharpens my focus and makes me better. I would expect that professionals in other fields perceive criticism in the same way.

If we seem overly sensitive and unfair, you have to realize that some of us have lived our entire lives seeing our city get dumped on... and the blood, sweat, and tears that we've shed to improve it get ignored. (If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? If an abandoned block gets cleaned up, and planted with flowers and cabbages and corn, and no one photographs it for an international audience, is it really a green oasis in the deserted ruins of a forgotten city?)

You are welcome here. I have been a member of this forum for seven years, and if there's one thing I've learned in that tie, it's that you cannot have a thin skin and "roll" with Detroiters. The people who have stayed here by choice are tough and practical and real. They are also the salt of the earth, and are some of the best people in the world once you get to know them. This is not a new development. Detroit was ever thus.

Finally, all of the ruins here have human stories behind them, and not just in the distant past. I am a daughter of these ruins, and I grew up in their shadow. I long for pictures that tell stories about how postmodern Detroit have shaped our lives, and not just for the worst.