...After the Suburbs: Erica

The title "...After the Suburbs" is somewhat of a misnomer when considering the actual content of the exhibition at the Kiang Gallery. Rather than examining the suburbs themselves and considering their future, the exhibition seeks to understand what the post-suburban landscape will mean to all built environments, from Sze Tsung Leong images of urban China to James D. Griffioen's feral houses in the historic suburbs of Detroit. While the theme of urban decay will likely be covered in greater detail in our later classes, the trends that brought us to this point have already been covered. It is an almost painful irony that the construction of the now-abandoned neighborhoods of Detroit were made possible both geographically and financially by the automobile and that their fate was tied so closely to its successful manufacturing. Griffioen regularly answers the questions posed by the exhibition on his blog where we can learn that many of these feral houses have been put down in recent years, and that urban farming and seed bombs may really be what's in store for us (Also, check out his great discussion on markets in Detroit!). While most of the artists focused on residential elements of the built environment, the strip malls and parking lots associated with these areas are equally neglected in most cases, leading me to wonder about where this cycle will take us. We've moved from central cities to streetcar suburbs to postwar suburbs and now are making our way back to the cities, but what happens to the landscape we've created in our wake? Is it to be saved, destroyed, or allowed to fend for itself like the feral houses of Detroit? In the end, I think the focus on the house is appropriate for ...After the Suburbs because the house is often the last one standing in a dying community.