Dora Apel

There is a reason that they are so mad. This shit (lynching) was out of control and should never have been allowed. The ghoulish faces of the whites folks, as they stand gawking at some poor, dead Negro swinging from a pole, is disturbing - especially the kids and women standing there gurning. Ignore the racist text that goes along with the photographs in the book - it is exactly what you would expect - the usual establishment cant. Whitey all bad - Darky all blameless and good - but nonetheless seriously consider the mindset that allows one group of humans to do this to another set of humans - whatever that is, exactly, needs to be guarded against and avoided. It is not good for any one.… (més)

Last week I received my usual daily email from a digital magazine that is in the forefront of creating and reporting political news. In the center of the page was an advertisement called Nine Scenes from A Changing Detroit. It is full of optimistic and promising chatter about the new Detroit that is emerging due to business and government coalitions. Whole Foods, a charter school (and the privatization that comes with that), a central market and much more all powered by a $100 million investment from JP Morgan Chase and Co. I had just read Beautiful, Terrible, Ruins so I viewed this with a different lens then I might have otherwise. While I live in a city that has gone through its own machinations with gentrification and the suffering and anguish that comes with it, Beautiful Terrible Ruins makes it clear that the winners blames the losers and that this is just the way of crony capitalism. The concept of "ruins" is new for me and I appreciated how clearly Dora Apel defined it and her critiques of it. I felt challenged by the book and wholly immersed in it. The art demonstrated her theoretical perspective and give life to it. Now when I am walking in Boston, in an area that has been newly and now almost fully gentrified I see the new construction of multi-million dollar condos as the ruins too and it's pretty heartbreaking. I thank Edelweiss for giving me the opportunity to review this book for an honest opinion.… (més)