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| Ballroom, Lee Plaza Hotel |
Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre
At the end of the XIXth Century, mankind was about to fulfill an old dream. The idea of a fast and autonomous means of displacement was slowly becoming a reality for engineers all over the world. Thanks to its ideal location on the Great Lakes Basin, the city of Detroit was about to generate its own industrial revolution. Visionary engineers and entrepreneurs flocked to its borders.
]…]
Detroit, industrial capital of the XXth Century, played a fundamental role shaping the modern world. The logic that created the city also destroyed it. Nowadays, unlike anywhere else, the city’s ruins are not isolated details in the urban environment. They have become a natural component of the landscape. Detroit presents all archetypal buildings of an American city in a state of mummification. Its splendid decaying monuments are, no less than the Pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum of Rome, or the Acropolis in Athens, remnants of the passing of a great Empire.
]…]
Detroit, industrial capital of the XXth Century, played a fundamental role shaping the modern world. The logic that created the city also destroyed it. Nowadays, unlike anywhere else, the city’s ruins are not isolated details in the urban environment. They have become a natural component of the landscape. Detroit presents all archetypal buildings of an American city in a state of mummification. Its splendid decaying monuments are, no less than the Pyramids of Egypt, the Coliseum of Rome, or the Acropolis in Athens, remnants of the passing of a great Empire.
Ruins are the visible symbols and landmarks of our societies
and their changes, small pieces of history in suspension.
The state of ruin is essentially a temporary situation that happens at
some point, the volatile result of change of era and the fall of empires.
This fragility, the time elapsed but even so running fast, lead us to watch them one very last time :
being dismayed, or admire, making us wondering about the permanence of things.
Photography appeared to us as a modest way
to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state.
and their changes, small pieces of history in suspension.
The state of ruin is essentially a temporary situation that happens at
some point, the volatile result of change of era and the fall of empires.
This fragility, the time elapsed but even so running fast, lead us to watch them one very last time :
being dismayed, or admire, making us wondering about the permanence of things.
Photography appeared to us as a modest way
to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state.
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| United Artists Theater |
Yves Marchand et Romain Meffre -A la fin du XIXme siècle, l’humanité était sur le point de réaliser un vieux rêve. L’idée d’un moyen de déplacement rapide et autonome devenait progressivement une réalité pour les ingénieurs du monde entier. Idéalement située sur le bassin des Grands Lacs, la ville de Détroit allait produire sa propre révolution industrielle. Les ingénieurs et entrepreneurs visionnaires se rassemblèrent aux portes de la ville.
]…]Detroit capitale industrielle du Xxème siècle joua un rôle fondamental dans la construction du monde moderne. Ce qui fut à l’origine de sa création le fut autant de sa destruction. De nos jours, contrairement à d’autres lieux, les ruines de la ville ne sont pas isolées de sa situation géographique. Elles sont devenues des composants naturels du paysage. Detroit montre tous les archétypes des bâtiments d’une ville américaine en état de momification. Ses splendides monuments en décrépitude sont, tout comme les Pyramides d’Egypte, le Colisée à Rome, ou l’Acropole d’Athènes, les vestiges du passage d’un grand Empire.
Les ruines sont les symboles visibles et les repères de nos sociétés
Et leur modifications, des petits morceaux d’histoire en suspens.
L’état d’une ruine est essentiellement une situation temporaire qui se produit
A un moment donné, le résultat volatile d’un changement d’ère et de la chute des empires.
Cette fragilité, le temps s’écoule et court trop vite, nous conduit à les regarder encore une dernière fois :
Consternés, en admiration, nous faisant songer à la permanence des choses.
La photographie nous est apparue comme un modeste moyen
De garder un peu de cet état éphémère.
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| William Livingstone House |
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