Packard Plant

[jeff_a]

I read on yahoo news yesterday that some yahoo with a spray paint can snuck into the old Packard Factory and painted a figure of someone saying "And I remember when this used to be all trees." Not surprising by itself, but now someone in the art world:rolleyes: has jack-hammered the 8' x 8' piece of concrete out, trucked it off somewhere, and plans to auction it off as "art". They're hoping for $200,000-$1,200,000.

Sorry guys, I just don't get it.

[jeff_a]

I think I would rather have a Packard than a hunk of concrete ripped-off from the Packard Plant with some lame graffitti on it.

[Rusty_OToole]

He must be one long living greenie if he remembers when the Packard plant was forest. I'm a senior citizen and I don't remember when it was a Packard plant.

You could add:"It soon will be again". Much of Detroit is going back to nature. They are talking of bulldozing whole neighborhoods and planting trees or crops, to reduce the upkeep expense for roads, utilities etc.

Then there is the irony of a grafitti "artist" moaning about defacing nature.

The more I think about this the dumber it gets.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[motoringicons]

Actually, I believe the person being referred to is Banksy. He is an extremely well known graffiti artist. His works have sold well in excess of a million bucks during the last couple of months. There was much debate about who does this chunk of concrete really belong to.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140314/ENT05/303140017/banksy-555-gallery-detroit-packard

The contemporary art market is on fire now with a good portion of the top buyers being American.

To put it in a vintage automobile perspective, RM Auctions conducted their first New York automobile auction in conjunction with Sothebys during Art Week in New York City. The cars offered were nothing less than fabulous by even the most advanced collectors taste. The total dollar amount sold for all of the cars offered by RM was a fraction of the cost of just one of the art pieces sold by Christies the day before. RM's total dollar amount sold was an impressive 63 Million. Christies total dollar amount sold was an outstanding 782 Million with one item alone selling for 142 Million. Check out these results on the link below. It makes the even the most exotic of collector cars look like chump change:

http://www.christies.com/sales/post-war-and-contemporary-new-york-november-2013/#overview-section

Edited March 14, 2014 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[30DodgePanel]

I once heard a radio DJ say in the mid 80's that he "wouldn't go to Detroit to puke!"... I used to agree with him for some of the obvious reasons but the way that city was allowed to fail is shameful to even those who never cared for the city. Now, I have great respect for that city and all it has meant to so many.

It's a real tragedy, especially when someone with so little talent can make a fortune on something that isn't even his to begin with. If he does sell it for a small fortune then the citizens of Detroit should sue for trespassing and the funds go for the good of the community namely the ones who are homeless now due to the policies that have robbed them of their sense of security.

[Guest Bob Call]

"graffiti artist" Back in my day it was called defacing private or public property and it was crime. The the bleeding hearts corrupted the language and started calling it graffiti. It should be again called vandalism and be a crime.

[Bleach]

"graffiti artist" Back in my day it was called defacing private or public property and it was crime. The the bleeding hearts corrupted the language and started calling it graffiti. It should be again called vandalism and be a crime.

LIKE!

[Bleach]

These vandals have about as much talent as a monkey throwing turds at a wall.

[Rusty_OToole]

Who does the Packard plant belong to? Last I heard, the city swindled it away from the owner in order to give it to some grafter, then did nothing with it. It probably has gone back to the city for taxes. Since half the city government is in prison and the other half belong there it's hard to say who is ripping off who.

From what I hear they have worse crimes every day before breakfast. If the cops do nothing about them they aren't going to worry about a cement thief. The other crooks have already cleaned the place out of anything of value.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Lahti35]

I used to work security at an art museum, nothing huge... just a medium sized town. Talk about a strange crowd... just about anything you can think of was on exhibit as art. Sticks glued on paper for $15k, sculptures covered in wet TP and then allowed to dry for $45k, 10ft tall martini glasses, gas cans with video of striking matches projected on the side, giant eggy shapes made from pressed table salt...

They all had two things in common, sky high prices and placards spouting total BS. Typical artist speak about the creation on display related synergies maximizing the interplay of shapes and light combined with spiritual awareness reguarding negative space aspects of soul, corners, and the stuff between your toes.

During quiet times I would try to read through these placards with little success. It was like a contest to see who could spout the most art talk and out do the guy next to you.

Everytime they rotated the exhibits the museum would host a gala night for the artists and patrons. Without fail the exhibit hall would be mostly void because the party goers were lubricating themselves at the bar all night and then sneaking off into dark corners. After the gala the only evidence anyone had been to see the art would be some used plates/cups on the "art" and the occasional bra found loose in before said dark corner.

Give me a boring old landscape any day or some dogs playing poker... thats as deep into the "art" world as I care to go!

[Guest Magoo]

I read on yahoo news yesterday that some yahoo with a spray paint can snuck into the old Packard Factory and painted a figure of someone saying "And I remember when this used to be all trees." Not surprising by itself, but now someone in the art world:rolleyes: has jack-hammered the 8' x 8' piece of concrete out, trucked it off somewhere, and plans to auction it off as "art". They're hoping for $200,000-$1,200,000.

Sorry guys, I just don't get it.

This story actually dates back four years to 2010. The artist Banksy is a social activist of a sort, and the artwork was a stunt designed to draw out the owner of the Packard plant at the time, who had essentially abandoned the property and gone into hiding, leaving the neighborhood and city with a terrible blight. The idea was that the owner would come out of his hole to claim ownership of the valuable artwork, at which time the city could nail him. And actually, it sort of worked.

The Packard complex is now owned by a Spanish developer, Fernando Palazuelo, who so far seems like he could be the real deal.

More than anything I have ever seen, this remote-control drone video done in the fall of 2013 illustrates the current condition and scale of the plant.

http://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/2013/10/30/video-the-packard-plant-by-drone-cam/

[30DodgePanel]

Thanks for the videos Magoo. Hopefully one day the area will come back to life again.

[Larry Schramm]

I read on yahoo news yesterday that some yahoo with a spray paint can snuck into the old Packard Factory and painted a figure of someone saying "And I remember when this used to be all trees." Not surprising by itself, but now someone in the art world:rolleyes: has jack-hammered the 8' x 8' piece of concrete out, trucked it off somewhere, and plans to auction it off as "art". They're hoping for $200,000-$1,200,000.

Sorry guys, I just don't get it.

The humor is the whole 40 acre plant was sold for $405,000.00. Here is another link to more information.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140102/BUSINESS06/301020075/Packard-Plant-deed-transfer-new-owner-Fernando-Palazuelo

[plymouthcranbrook]

I used to work security at an art museum, nothing huge... just a medium sized town. Talk about a strange crowd... just about anything you can think of was on exhibit as art. Sticks glued on paper for $15k, sculptures covered in wet TP and then allowed to dry for $45k, 10ft tall martini glasses, gas cans with video of striking matches projected on the side, giant eggy shapes made from pressed table salt...

They all had two things in common, sky high prices and placards spouting total BS. Typical artist speak about the creation on display related synergies maximizing the interplay of shapes and light combined with spiritual awareness reguarding negative space aspects of soul, corners, and the stuff between your toes.

During quiet times I would try to read through these placards with little success. It was like a contest to see who could spout the most art talk and out do the guy next to you.

Everytime they rotated the exhibits the museum would host a gala night for the artists and patrons. Without fail the exhibit hall would be mostly void because the party goers were lubricating themselves at the bar all night and then sneaking off into dark corners. After the gala the only evidence anyone had been to see the art would be some used plates/cups on the "art" and the occasional bra found loose in before said dark corner.

Give me a boring old landscape any day or some dogs playing poker... thats as deep into the "art" world as I care to go!

I feel that this comes from rich people with more money than sense trying to impress their wealthy friends with how enlightened they are. Of course not only Rich Folk fall for this, many not so wealthy people try to impress the world with their taste and sophistication. So a bucket of Urine on the floor or an American flag on a floor with the "Artist" encouraging "Enlightened People" to express themselves with how they "truly" feel about something. Makes me ill.

[Guest Magoo]

Thanks for the videos Magoo. Hopefully one day the area will come back to life again.

The neighborhood is amazingly resilient and is slowly coming back but it can never be what it was. That world does not exist anymore. The Packard plant once employed over 30,000 workers. Due to automation and technology, today it is unusual to see an auto plant with 3000 workers.

The population of Detroit peaked in 1951.