At the GRAM: Opportunity Abandoned?

If you're from Michigan or have spent any time in the Detroit area, there's a new exhibit at the Grand Rapids Art Museum that's worth checking out.

Andrew Moore's photography series, Detroit Disassembled, is part of Cities in Transition—an appreciation of the urban environment and the constant evolution of cities.

The images are startling—both in regards to their likeness to the ancient ruins found in Europe and the realization that this is a present reality—one we allowed it to happen. Each image is itself a conflict of beauty and tragedy.

There's a surreal quality to many of the prints, the saturated colors and natural lighting making the reality of the situation look almost like a dream rather than the nightmare that it actually is.

The exhibition curator from the Akron Art Museum spoke last night at the member preview. She concluded her presentation by posing a currently unanswerable question: Will Detroit become a decaying monument to the nation's past, or will it become a model for revitalization and urban renewal?

The exhibit runs through August 26th. And if you're in Grand Rapids for Festival of the Arts this weekend, admission to the museum, and this exhibit, is free. So no excuses!