Detroit Film Theatre presents plant (3D), a Video of abandoned Packard Plant
First in “Detroit Revealed on Film” series
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) presents plant (3D), a three-dimensional digital video of the abandoned Packard auto plant in Detroit, from Jan. 20 to Feb. 5. This is the first in the Detroit Film Theatre’s (DFT) “Detroit Revealed on Film” series, which runs in conjunction with the exhibition Detroit Revealed: Photographs, 2000–2010. plant (3D) is free with museum admission.
The video was commissioned by the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan (U–M) and shot by digital artist Paul Kaiser, a U–M 2011 Kidder Resident in the Arts, and his partners Marc Downie and Shelley Eshkar, who together make up OpenEnded Group.
Eshkar shot more than 10,000 images of every detail of the plant, then used these as raw material to create the completed composition. The resulting projection captures the enormity of the site: the vastness of deserted corridors, the sheer drops of stairwells and the incongruity of the open sky. Recorded ambient sound punctuates the piece with scattered signs of life and the unsettling randomness of events.
As outsiders stepping in, the artists archive the exquisite power of this urban ruin in a postindustrial age. The work further engages conversation regarding the public’s attraction to ruin and raises unavoidable questions about art, responsibility and community.
plant (3D) runs for approximately 15 minutes, beginning at 1 p.m. daily, and will be repeated throughout the day until one hour prior to museum closing. It will be shown in the Family Room on the second floor, outside the special exhibition galleries where Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus is currently on view.
This presentation is made possible with the generous support of the Institute for the Humanities, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
About “Detroit Revealed on Film”
In conjunction with the exhibition Detroit Revealed: Photographs, 2000–2010, the Detroit Film Theatre presents a series of new works by local and international filmmakers on the past, present and future of a singular city. Upcoming films:
February 2, 7 p.m.—After the Factory explores former industrial cities Detroit and Lodz, Poland, as their entire way of life transitions to something new.
February 23, 7 p.m.—Grown in Detroit, a look at the urban gardening efforts at the Catherine Ferguson Academy, a Detroit public school of 300 students, mainly African American, pregnant and parenting teenagers.
April 5, 7 p.m.—Louder than Love, a tribute to the storied Grande Ballroom.
April 19, 7 p.m.—Urban Roots, a documentary about Detroit’s urban farming phenomenon and the struggle to forge a sustainable future for America’s postindustrial urban communities.
April 26, 7 p.m.—Detroit/State Theater, a documentary shot inside historic theaters that asks civic leaders to speculate on the coming “stages” of Detroit’s efforts to reinvent itself.
Hours and Admission
Museum hours are 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for ages 6-17, and free for DIA members. For membership information call 313-833-7971.
