Photo File: “The Ruins of Detroit” by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre

Michigan Central Station

Statement:

At the beginning of the 20th Century, the city of Detroit developed rapidly thanks to the automobile industry. Until the 50′s, its population rose to almost 2 million people. Detroit was the fourth most important city in the United States. It was the dazzling symbol of the American Dream City with its monumental skyscrapers and fancy neighborhoods. Increasing segregation and de-industrialization caused violent riots in 1967. The white middle-class exodus from the city accelerated and the suburbs grew. Firms and factories began to close or move to lower-wage states. Slowly, but inexorably downtown high-rise buildings emptied.

Since the 50′s, “Motor City” lost more than half of its population.

Untied Artists Theater

William Livingstone House

Fisher Body 21 Plant

See more photos from this project here

Look for The Ruins of Detroit book out sometime this August via Steidl

posted by: Harold Johns III

Watch: Up There

Synopsis:

Shot high above the streets of NYC, Up There reveals the dying craft of large scale hand painted advertising and the untold story of the painters struggling to keep it alive.  Capturing a trade that is equal parts artistic precision and grueling labor, the film presents a painting tradition pre-dating modern advertising. A craft that today finds itself dangling precariously on the brink of extinction.

Up There is directed by Malcom Murray, based on the original concept by Mother. It is produced by Mekanism with music by The Album Leaf.

posted by: Brent Carter

Re-GIF: The Star Wars Trilogy

The entire Star Wars Trilogy was summarized in animated gif form by pixel artist Folds Five. Check out his versions of the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi after the jump.

See more work by Folds Five here
Read an interview about the project here

posted by: Harold Johns III

In WTF News: Roundup June 29, 2010

News moves fast these days, really fast, so fast we often struggle to get all the information we want to share up on The Rathaus. Our WTF News can be particularly troublesome in this regard, seemingly because we’re swimming in just this type of news as of late. So in an effort to document the best of the worst and the weirdest in the news, we’ve put together another roundup segment. Here’s what we’ve been shaking our heads to in WTF disbelief recently.

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OFFICERS CLAIM THEY DON’T NEED A LAW TO STOP PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM TAKING PICTURES

Two police officers stopped a teenage photographer from taking pictures of an Armed Forces Day parade – and then claimed they did not need a law to detain him.

Jules Mattsson, a 16-year-old freelancer from Hackney, east London, was photographing police cadets on Saturday when he was ordered to stop and give his personal details by an adult cadet officer who claimed he needed parental permission to capture images of the cadets.

After arguing his rights in a series of protracted legal debates with officers, the sixth former says he was pushed down a set of stairs and detained for breaching the peace until the parade passed.

Read the full article (with video of the incident) via The Independent

Our two cents: England’s own Association of Police Chiefs has made it clear that police are not allowed to harass photographers of any kind while in the public realm, so obviously the cops were out of line and acted like a goon squad in this instance.

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OKLAHOMA POLICE TASE AN 86-YEAR-OLD BEDRIDDEN WOMAN FOR NOT TAKING HER MEDS

American police have been accused of tasering an 86-year-old bed-ridden grandmother. Lonnie Tinsley called the emergency services to his home in El Reno, Oklahoma, when he became concerned that his grandma Lona Vernon had failed to take her medication. But instead of a medical technician, he claims at least a dozen armed police officers answered his call.

When Mrs Vernon ordered the police from her house, officer Thomas Duran allegedly decided she was being ‘aggressive’ and gave the order: ‘Taser her.’ Her alarmed grandson is then said to have replied: ‘Don’t taze my granny!’ According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Tinsley’s ‘obstructive’ behavior prompted the police to threaten him with their tasers. He was then assaulted, removed from the room, thrown to the floor, handcuffed, and detained in a police car.

In order to ensure ‘officer safety’, one of his men ‘stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation.’ Another of the officers then shot her with a taser, but the connection wasn’t solid. A second fired his taser, ‘striking her to the left of the midline of her upper chest, and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain’, and unconsciousness.

Read the full article via the Daily Mail

Our two cents: American cops use tasers with all the discretion of a drunk teenager carrying a gross of bottle rockets. Check out TaserWatch to read other incidents of Taser abuse.

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ALL MCNUGGETS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL, SOME CONTAIN THE SAME INGREDIENTS AS SILLY PUTTY

U.S. McNuggets not only contain more calories and fat than their British counterparts, but also chemicals not found across the Atlantic. CNN investigated the differences after receiving a  blog comment asking about them.

American McNuggets (190 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat for 4 pieces) contain the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product. They also contain dimethylpolysiloxane, “an anti-foaming agent” also used in Silly Putty. By contrast, British McNuggets (170 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat for 4 pieces) lists neither chemical among its ingredients….

Dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the oil from foaming, says Lisa McComb, who handles global media relations for McDonald’s. The chemical is a form of silicone also used in cosmetics and Silly Putty. A review of animal studies by The World Health Organization found no adverse health effects associated with dimethylpolysiloxane.

TBHQ is a preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats, limited to .02 percent of the oil in the nugget. One gram (one-thirtieth of an ounce) can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse,” according to “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.”

Read the full article via CNN’s The Chart

Our two cents: As a general rule, don’t eat food with an ingredient you can’t pronounce.

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LIGHTNING STRIKES THREE OF THE TALLEST BUILDINGS IN CHICAGO AT THE SAME TIME

Watch the video here

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AT LEAST 604 PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED DURING RECENT PROTESTS AGAINST THE G20 SUMMIT IN TORONTO, CANADA

Many of those arrested were innocent bystanders who were waiting for buses, walking their dogs or just taking a stroll. Amnesty International Canada is calling for an independent review of the G8/G20 security measures.

Read the full article via CBC News

Watch video taken behind the lines here

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posted by: Harold Johns III

Watch: The Making of Mike Stilkey’s “Reminiscent”

Thanks to the Pasadena Library, Mike Stilkey incorporated 5,000 books into his latest installation Reminiscent at the new Hurley Space Gallery.

posted by: Harold Johns III