2017 Exhibition
26. The Underground
The Rackham Building at Woodward & Warren
The Underground is an illuminated architectural model which both depicts and pays homage to the creative practices of Detroit which operate outside of pop imagery and urban marketing.
The piece is constructed from hot wire milled foam, using a proprietary process of carving complex volumes or voids into spaces reminiscent of caverns, catacombs, and cathedrals. These spaces exist below a traditional architectural model of ‘above ground’ urban depictions of Detroit – which would highlight iconographic places (Capital Park, for example.) The translucent nature of polystyrene allows for the piece to “glow” – much like a big iceberg – with the integration of artificial lighting. The various layers of caverns will be separated by custom print graphics which both color tint the light, and allude to various creative activity.
Artist Information
Aaron Jones & Wesley Taylor
Aaron Jones is a registered architect, illustrator, and fabricator based in Detroit, MI. Aaron produces experimental theaters, pop-up structures, comic books, performance art, and critical writing in collaboration with leading creative professionals and organizations around the world. Aaron holds a Master of Architecture from Cranbrook Academy of Art and is an Assistant Professor at Lawrence Technological University.
Wesley Taylor has spent many years "scene building" in the Detroit Hip Hop community by participating as both an emcee and graphic designer in the rap group, Athletic Mic League. He is co-founder of Emergence Media and co-founder of Talking Dolls Studio and a lead artist in the Complex Movements collective. Wesley holds a graduate degree in 2-D design from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia. His solo work revolves around the promise of the future