{"id":19217,"date":"2017-02-01T04:32:19","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T04:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=19217"},"modified":"2017-02-01T04:32:19","modified_gmt":"2017-02-01T04:32:19","slug":"seen-art-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/seen-art-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"To be seen: On art and homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, the Challenge cohort spent our Friday in the Detroit Institute of the Arts<\/a> (DIA). We spent an hour of the morning sketching in a room full of paintings and sculptures. I was particularly drawn to a sculpture of a woman whose face was full of longing. Throughout the hour I noticed less of the room around me and was drawn further and further into the details of the sculpture. How could this be possible, I wondered, that I am finding new details after gazing at the same object for an extended period of time? The tracing of a kneecap under a dress. A curved pinky finger. A basket tipped over behind her. How many more things might I find had my eye traced over this sculpture for a longer period of time?<\/p>\n

To capture someone\u2019s gaze, I think, is a profound gift. A treasured moment \u2013 especially in the Internet age of scrolling. To inspire someone\u2019s eyes into lingering, this is the room of vulnerability that Art beckons us into.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been going to school and working in Northwest Detroit for 6 years. I didn\u2019t feel like I was a part of the community until a young man recognized me, smiled and waved when we walked past each other on the sidewalk this past summer. It was a warm, sunny day and it was the most joyful moment of the year for me.<\/p>\n

He usually sat on the intersection of Livernois and Six Mile in the same, layered outfit. I would give him food, water or socks when I had them, ask him his name, and how he was doing. With 16,000 people counted as homeless (according to HAND\u2019s 2015 report<\/a>) in the Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park area, you don\u2019t always know the mental plane people are on. Would he remember my face or my name? It didn\u2019t really matter, but I still wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed by the vastness of homelessness. There\u2019s so much I don\u2019t understand or don\u2019t have the resources to help solve. But as one person, I can do something. I can help remind someone that they have dignity and they deserve to live, to thrive. Isn\u2019t that what we all long for? To be seen by another person and affirmed that our life is important? It\u2019s a vulnerable thing to smile at a stranger. It\u2019s a vulnerable thing to look in their eyes for more than a moment.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Architect Sam Mockbe<\/a>e famously said that architecture should be warm, dry, and noble. If architecture is an extension of ourselves, then this is a simple reminder of what we all deserve. Warmth is indeed a massive privilege. It\u2019s dignifying.<\/p>\n

Wim Hof<\/a>, the Dutch daredevil, says that cold is the window to the soul. How paradoxical to Sam Mockbee\u2019s statement! Although Hof\u2019s statement sounds crazy, when I see homeless people out in the winter I think, yes, seeing our brothers and sisters on the street in the winter is indeed a window to our collective soul. The harshness of winter is an honest teacher.<\/p>\n

If Detroit really is a city of design, then shouldn\u2019t we be looking at every corner of our city with the eyes of an artist? Gazing, letting our eyes linger to find details we wouldn\u2019t normally see during our daily routine – like in the uncomfortable, the margins, the forgotten, the vulnerable?<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

To read more about homelessness:<\/strong>
\nGo here<\/a>.
\nOr here! <\/a><\/p>\n

Or google your heart out.<\/p>\n

Other quick tips:<\/strong>
\n-Keep water, snacks, and socks in your car or bag to offer
\n-Ask their name, ask how they are, offer a kind wish
\n-Call one of these numbers if you see people outside in the extreme cold: 1-800-274-3583 and 1-800-343-4427<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few weeks ago, the Challenge cohort spent our Friday in the Detroit Institute of the Arts (DIA). We spent an hour of the morning sketching in a room full of paintings and sculptures. I was particularly drawn to a sculpture of a woman whose face was full of longing. Throughout the hour I noticed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19217\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}