DIA Walk In

Detroit Walk in Portrait Studio by Corine Vermeulen at Detroit Institute of the Arts
Detroit Walk in Portrait Studio by Corine Vermeulen at Detroit Institute of the Arts

There has been so much written about Detroit’s hope for recovery and it seems every article covers exactly the same territory. We brought the recent National Geographic story with us and Peggi read it aloud as I drove. There are people farming on empty lots in the middle of the city. We got really caught up in it all. In Motown everyone roots for the home team. A bum who passed us on the street this morning broke the news that the Tigers had won all three games in Saint Louis. “All three,” he said, holding up three fingers.

We spent most of the day at the Detroit Institute of the Arts where they are featuring a special exhibit of Diego and Frida in Detroit. Edsel Ford, the CEO of Ford Motor Company put up the money, a quarter of a million dollars in today’s currency, to hire Rivera, an avowed Communist, to paint a mural of the story of Detroit on the walls of the museum. Rivera considered it his best work. Frida came along with him and did some of most sensational paintings here. The show is drenched with cultural and political significance.

When the city went bankrupt the Institute considered selling its assets. Who knows what would have happened to the mural. A Rodin “Thinker” sits outside the museum. They have some choice Cezanne’s, portraits, a Madame Cezanne, a landscape, a famous bathers painting the skulls. Choice Van Goghs and Rembrandts. “Detroit Walk in Portrait Studio” by Corine Vermeulen was in its last day and I’m so happy we caught this show. Her portraits perfectly capture essence of this city, the people. Here’s a link to some of the photos in the show.

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