Detroit Trip

I was super excited about our field trip to Detroit, but I didn't really know what to expect going into it. The trip changed my perspective on tags. Before the trip, I considered the more "masterful" works of graffiti, or the ones that look more like murals to be art, whereas the tags were simply vandalism. However, our trip to Detroit made me change my mind. I saw many examples of tags that were beautifully and thoughtfully created into these elaborate pieces, and I also saw simple signatures that I now consider to be artistic practice pieces as opposed to vandalism meant to deface public property. 

I loved walking around the different areas of Detroit- Lincoln Street Park and the Eastern Market, and seeing how all of these different artists leave their mark on their city. It was fascinating for me to see the culmination of the different works, and to me these graffiti-filled areas exhibit a sense of community. The colors are vibrant and the pieces add to the feeling of energy that radiates throughout the city. 

I also really enjoyed our visit to the DIA. I wandered off by myself to explore some of the pieces in the contemporary gallery. One thing that really struck me was how some of these artworks were reminiscent of the works of graffiti that we had just witnessed. I loved being able to explore the parallels between the two different types of artwork. All in all, I learned a lot about modern art, graffiti, my opinions on graffiti, and the city of Detroit. This trip definitely made me want to go back and explore Detroit again!