Every time I am in Detroit, there is one place I can not help but visit. If you ask "Why?", it's not an easy answer. At first glance, it's just a bunch of old stuff called an art project. Of course, then the question naturally arises, what is art? If we consider art as any human creative expression that influences others in one way or another, then the object of my attraction is the art project named Heidelberg. The name comes from the street where it all started almost thirty years ago when Tyree Guyton began to fulfill his childhood dream of making art out of unnecessary items. Tyree's creative journey was a successful one - the project is still alive and well today, winning over 27 awards in various countries around the world.
Although Tyree had to defend his "baby" more than once: officials told him to move the project indoors, to New York or Chicago, he had to listen to complaints that there were too many white people attending the project, and then too many people overall... But almost thirty years later, the project remains in the same place. The most fascinating thing is that every time you return you find the project a little different - like a person who seems to be the same, but at the same time - slightly altered, where the passage of time is evident in some aspects but not as pronounced in others. Natural elements may cause destruction, fires may occur, or ownership may shift over time.
The last time before visiting, I started looking for the history of the project and that's how I discovered a special person - Tyree Guyton.
Somehow I knew I would meet him. My intuition did not disappoint me. I recognized him from the photo, and there was no doubt when he introduced himself. It was a quiet weekday morning, with a few individual gags being replaced by others. Tyree was working on his new project: Lego-like blocks could create a new item after you change their configuration. I will look for it the next time I am in Detroit, as usual :) It is open 24/7 and always free but any support is appreciated.
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