NAIAS exhibiting manufacturers include: Acura, AMG, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, CODA Automotive, Dodge, Falcon Motor Sports, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Lincoln, Maserati, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Porsche, Ram, Scion, Shelby American, Smart, SRT, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Vehicle Production Group, Volkswagen, and Volvo.

NAIAS will be open to the public Jan. 14-22, 2012. NAIAS is a fascinating visual circus that is highly entertaining every year — even for a non-car guy like myself. I’ll try to keep you updated and share some pictures throughout the week.

In line with previous Letters from the Editor, here is my brief introduction to “Holy Art.” What I had in mind for “Holy Art” was a discussion of religious inspired art. I’ll publish a review of Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus (I previously provided a sneak peak of this show ), and I will provide a photo essay of the contemporary art at the St. Bonaventure Monastery (Capuchin Order) . I believe these two reviews will focus on artwork that is inspired by religious views in contrast to artwork that plays to a viewer’s sentimentality for religion. I will also look for other examples of holy art that falls into the former category (and maybe some that fall into the later category for contrast).

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Detroiters often look towards these churches for guidance, especially in these economic hard times.  But of course churches themselves are not immune to the financial difficulties of our time: Last week the Archdiocese of Detroit announced plans for church closures and mergers.  So this week—as best as we can—we will try to pay tribute to some of these churches.  We will try to share an inkling of their stories.  We will highlight the exquisite and awe-inspiring beauty of some of these structures.  And, as always, we will encourage you to share your stories and your pictures.

Actually, the majority of the pieces at MoCAD are installed by MoCAD’s staff based on the artist’s or the artist’s gallery’s instructions. After all, the artist is not concerned with his or her complete control over the materials or the look of the piece, rather the artist is concerned with the concept of the piece. Welcome to conceptual art. Conceptual art is difficult to corral, because a lot of artists and critics will use it to describe varying pieces of art. Yet its overarching quality is that it focuses on an idea rather than the artist’s dexterity in creating a piece of art. And it started with Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain.” A recent surveyof art critics cited Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain as a work of contemporary art that they liked more than any other.

It is a confusing form of art, which is often the artist’s intent. This week we will review the two shows at MoCAD that focus on conceptual art. We will also try to figure out where conceptual art stands today—and how far it has or has not come from the “Fountain.”

One in five Detroiters face hunger every day.  Yet the U.S. has an abundance of good and edible food that goes to waste every day: About 96 billion pounds of food a year goes to landfills.  Forgotten Harvest battles that waste.  It is one of the largest and best organized food rescue operations in the United States — it rescues food from restaurants, schools, commercial kitchens, and other places to get the food to Detroit’s hungry.  

This week we focus on telling the story of organizations, like Forgotten Harvest, who give selflessly to better our community.  We thank them for all of their hard work, and we will provide you with information about how you can volunteer to help these organizations with their missions.

Working downtown, I often walk or take a short drive at lunch.  I go by some of these skyscrapers and get lost in the intricate details that flourish all the way to the top (eyes on the road!). 

This past Friday, I ate lunch at the Book Cadillac.  What a great building, and what a great success story.  This is a luxurious hotel in an Italian Renaissance style.  For decades, the Book was a striking symbol of the forgotten past.  Yet in 2008 it re-opened as a striking symbol of a re-imagined past for an inspiring future.  When you visit the Book, you see a homage to the Renaissance Revival aesthetic from the outside married to an elegant modern aesthetic inside.  It is pure elegance.

As Detroiters, we have this humbling art all around us.  I admit that I do not know that much about the history of these buildings or the architects behind them.  So this week, I will try to give our beautiful buildings the coverage they deserve.  I will focus on photo essays, but I will also provide some background about the buildings and their architects.  If you are downtown this week and come across a stunning building (and if you are downtown this week, you will come across stunning buildings), please email me a picture to share with our readers (colindarke@thedetroiter.com).  And remember, for every building in disrepair there is a possible success story.

In this issue of thedetroiter.com, I introduce two of our newest contributors, Julia Gluesing and Ken Riopelle. They have been collaborating for more than 25 years as consultants and business owners (Cultural Connections, Inc.), as faculty members at Wayne State University, and as husband and wife. The focus of their work is, not surprisingly given the subject of this issue, the science of collaboration.

Their research has taken them into a broad range of organizations and communities from business, to government, to non-profit, to education, to design. Their passion is learning about how different forms of collaboration such as global teams, collaborative innovation networks (or COINs), science teams, and creative communities like ours here in Detroit are structured. They investigate how collaborations grow, and what kinds of results they produce, and why.

Julia is a business anthropologist and Ken is an information scientist, a great combination for getting to the bottom of things while keeping the bigger picture in mind. They are curious people, and we will all learn something about collaboration as they share the results of their work with us from time to time. Let us hear from you, too, about your own experiences and views on collaboration in Detroit. Ken and Julia will certainly welcome your ideas.

I also reached out to our resident collaborative think tank the Detroit Creative Corridor, who will share their thoughts on successful collaboration.  And finally, because I think the beginning steps of any successful collaborative project is to gather the experts and sift through the collective information, I reached out to creative professionals outside of Detroit who are successes in their chosen fields and asked them to share insights about what steps they took and what steps Detroit can take for success .

This week we spotlight several artists. We will hopefully introduce you to your next favorite artist. These artists all have unique voices. Voices that they share visually, yet here they provide added depth to their work and their process through a traditional Q&A. Please use the comments to ask any of the participating artists follow-up questions.

This week we also focus on the business of being an artist. Artists are entrepreneurs who run into marketing and legal questions on a regular basis. So we will have several 101 articles to help artists with the business (the ugly) side of their practice.
The spotlights and 101 articles will be regular features at Thedetroiter.com.

So please use the comments sections, or email me at colindarke@hotmail.com, with any suggestions for future artist spotlights or 101 articles.

Now go hug an artist – they make our lives better.

My student was quiet.  But he loved to complete each project. 

At one point, Sister Nancyann decorated the main eating area (which was the main area in the building) with all of the students’ work.  The students’ parents, grandparents, or other guardians came and were treated to a light dinner and a small celebration for the students.  My student’s grandmother sought me out. 

She told me how my little guy went from being quiet and depressed to energetic and hopeful.  He spoke often of our time together. The Capuchin’s art program broke down certain barriers and allowed this kid to be a kid.  It allowed him to take joy in the everyday.  Yet the art projects accomplished this goal quietly.  Even I was unaware.

Art therapy is a theraputic use of the art making process to . . . . Art therapy is a process where trained therapists use a psychotherapy process to …. Art therapy is where a mental health professional deciphers artwork to delve ….

Art therapy is difficult to define.  I believe it captures some of the energy and importance highlighted last week in our focus on art education, yet it takes the scientific processes a step farther.  I believe it works, because I’ve seen it work with my own eyes.  So this week we will compile as much information about art therapy as we can to better define art therapy so that we can better know its uses and successes.