Heidelberg Project - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Heidelberg Project is an outdoor art

Public art

The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...

project in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It was created in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton

Tyree Guyton

Tyree Guyton is an artist from Detroit, Michigan, born on August 24, 1955. He is married to Jenenne Whitfield and lives within Detroit city limits. Before becoming an artist, Guyton worked as a firefighter and an autoworker and served in the U.S. Army. Guyton studied art at Marygrove College,...

and his grandfather Sam Mackey ("Grandpa Sam") as an outdoor art

Public art

environment in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood on the city's east side, just north of the city's historically African-American Black Bottom

Black Bottom, Detroit

Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, that was demolished for redevelopment in the early 1960s. It was replaced with Lafayette Park. It was located on Detroit's near East side bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, Vernor Highway, and the Grand Trunk railroad...

area. The Heidelberg Project is, in part, a political protest, as Tyree Guyton's childhood neighborhood began to deteriorate after the 1967 riots. Guyton described coming back to Heidelberg Street after serving in the Army; he was astonished to see that the surrounding neighborhood looked as if "a bomb went off".

At first, the project consisted of his painting a series of houses on Detroit's Heidelberg Street

Heidelberg Street

Heidelberg Street is located in Detroit, Michigan, best known as being the site of Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project....

with bright dots of many colors and attaching salvaged items to the houses. It was a constantly evolving work that transformed a hard-core inner-city neighborhood where people were afraid to walk, even in daytime, into one in which neighbors took pride and where visitors were many and welcomed. Tyree Guyton worked on the Heidelberg Project daily with the children on the block. He and director Jenenne Whitfield gave lectures and workshops on the project around the country. Their main goal was to develop the Heidelberg Project into the city's first indoor and outdoor museum, complete with an artists' colony, creative art center, community garden, amphitheater, and more.

Demolition

On two occasions, the Heidelberg Project faced complete destruction by the City of Detroit on the basis of the barriers to urban planning it represented. In November 1991, under Mayor Coleman Young

Coleman Young

Coleman Alexander Young served as mayor of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan from 1974 to 1993. Young became the first African-American mayor of Detroit in the same week that Maynard Jackson became the first African-American mayor of Atlanta.-Pre-Mayoral career:Young was born in Tuscaloosa,...

, the Heidelberg Project's "The Baby Boy House," "Fun House" and "Truck Stop" were completely demolished.. Under Mayor Dennis Archer

Dennis Archer

Dennis Wayne Archer is an American lawyer and politician from Michigan. A Democrat, Archer served on the Michigan Supreme Court and as mayor of Detroit...

, a second demolition of the Heidelberg Project was ordered on February 4, 1999 that ended in the destruction of the houses Guyton termed "Your World", "Happy Feet" and "The Canfield House".

25 Years

The Heidelberg Project celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

The Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity in creating hope and a bright vision for the future. Some of the houses that remain on Heidelberg Street

Heidelberg Street

Heidelberg Street is located in Detroit, Michigan, best known as being the site of Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project....

include the "New White House (formerly Dotty Wotty)", "Number House" and "Obstruction of Justice (OJ) House", along with the Detroit Industrial Gallery, an artist studio/home that was purchased and maintained by Detroit artist Tim Burke.

The Heidelberg Project hopes to offer a new approach to the growing problems of urban sprawl

Urban sprawl

Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...

and decay

Urban decay

Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...

facing many American and other international "Shrinking cities

Shrinking cities

Shrinking cities are cities that are experiencing acute population loss. Deindustrialisation and out-migration are some of the common reasons that cities shrink. In the United States, this problem is most commonly associated with the Rust Belt, while parts of Eastern Europe also experience similar...

". This approach has garnered international attention, especially since the Heidelberg Project continues its maturation. The 20th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Project was celebrated on August 26, 2006, with a community festival, an event that ended a year of special attention. MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

producers filmed a segment for its show Made using the Heidelberg Project as a backdrop. Fashion model Kate Moss

Kate Moss

Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...

visited the Heidelberg Project with photographer Bruce Webber to photograph the City of Detroit for a special edition of W (magazine)
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...

in June 2006.

In 2007, two books were published about the Heidelberg Project. A children's book was written by Linda McLean, and a coffee-table book, entitled Connecting the Dots: Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project was published by Wayne State University Press

Wayne State University Press

Wayne State University Press , founded in 1941, is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books....

. In 2011, the HP released its first children's book, "Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art".

In 2008, the project was one of 15 projects representing the United States at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Visiting the site

The Heidelberg Project has received many visitors to its East Side location, including Counting Crows

Counting Crows

Counting Crows is an American rock band originating from Berkeley, California. Formed in 1991, the group gained popularity following the release of its debut album in 1993, August and Everything After, which featured the hit single "Mr. Jones"...

, and Jason McGovern.

External links

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