Robert Winter is a photographer based in Cologne, Germany. PASSING ME BY is an ongoing series documenting iconic places and their inhabitants worldwide
There’s something to be said about cities that constantly engage in discussions about themselves. And about how the only pride that’s worth expressing does not come from being randomly born in, or moving to a place. A birth cer- tificate doesn’t earn you bragging rights, nor does an apartment lease. When it comes to the urban arena, sensations of communal pride can only, justifiably, derive from being engaged, sticking around and making the best out of a des- perate situation, for you and your peers.
Detroit struck me as a place where “how do you like your stay” is a gen- uine question, posed with a sincere wish to make people feel comfortable, and safe, and inspired. Of course, projection plays a huge role here, but hey, that’s what traveling is. Weighing the myth that makes you want to see something with your own eyes in the first place against the counter-myth of people’s day- to-day lives.
Not unlike Robert’s, my own first encounter with Detroit was brief and intense. On the second day of my stay I got lost in the once futuristic space vessel that is the Renaissance Center. It was not the last time. I had breakfast at the counter of the Clique diner, next to a guy who could have used an extra chair. At one point he grabbed the hot sauce and pointed it at me like “here, you obviously don’t know how this works.” In an aisle at the window I saw Dez Andres and Amp Fiddler laughing over gigantic portions of scrambled eggs. I went
to the Detroit Institute of Arts and stared at a Kehinde Wiley painting, baffled by the stories of how, just a few years ago, the city was forced to consider selling large parts of the collection. Then I got lost again and walked three miles through the rain for an ’89-Bad Boys-style Pistons t-shirt.
to the Detroit Institute of Arts and stared at a Kehinde Wiley painting, baffled by the stories of how, just a few years ago, the city was forced to consider selling large parts of the collection. Then I got lost again and walked three miles through the rain for an ’89-Bad Boys-style Pistons t-shirt.
That’s the myth.
The counter-myth is what makes you want to stay. Detroit occupies a special place in pop culture’s collective imagination, especially for first-time visitors. But people really do live here. They non-symbolically go to work, raise families, rebuild a city that was designed to provide a home for x millions more of their kind. DJs and musicians often work regular day jobs, and artists and activists across the board think up smart ways to utilize the one thing they have plenty of: space.
The counter-myth is what makes you want to stay. Detroit occupies a special place in pop culture’s collective imagination, especially for first-time visitors. But people really do live here. They non-symbolically go to work, raise families, rebuild a city that was designed to provide a home for x millions more of their kind. DJs and musicians often work regular day jobs, and artists and activists across the board think up smart ways to utilize the one thing they have plenty of: space.
In early 2017, Robert Winter went to Detroit to shoot the cover art for Illa J’s new album, “Home.” He returned later that year during the summer months to get a more holistic idea of the city. The results of these two trips can be seen in this magazine. It doesn’t have an agenda and it does not try to convey any bigger story about the undertow of the city. It’s simply meant to be a glimpse into the very humbling experience of letting a city happen to you, and a thank you letter to everyone who shared their space and stories.
Julian Brimmers 2017
