It was surreal to now see the place in
person.
“It looks so much different from the
last time I was here,” Tammy, our host, lamented. “More arson
has changed it.
I didn't say much as I took in the
colorful sights: polka dot painted houses, faces painted on the
squares of sidewalk, clocks painted on plywood and nailed to trees
and poles.
It was haunting to see piles of shoes,
dolls, even a prosthetic leg all cast aside and transformed into art
exhibits. This trash-transformed-to-art reminded me of the way
society throws away people when they don't look or act the way they
are expected to. Unlike these pieces, so many people, potential
bubbling under the surface, are left without an opportunity to
transform. It's a painful, convicting thought.
The cool wind in the crisp, sunny
morning added to the haunting effect of the neighborhood.
About two weeks after our visit,
Cadence's school hosted Book Character Day to raise money for
veterans to participate in the Honor Flight Program. We were
deciding at the last minute what character she would be.
“I could be Heidelberg Project,”
Cadence declared.
“Tell me what you have in mind,” I
said.
“Well, I could wear my tie dyed shirt
cause artists wear tie dye.”
She listed the rest of her costume. I
was impressed. She's quick on her toes. And we had everything she
needed to be an artist.
Cadence gave me my story.
Tammy's husband brought his camera and
explored on his own. Tammy and I were left to translate everything
we saw to my eight-year-old.
“Did the bad people who started the
fires go to jail?”
“No, they didn't. They were never
caught,” Tammy explained.
We discussed how communities break down
and distrust builds between the people in the neighborhoods and the
police officers, who are helpers.
It was an uncomfortable topic to share
with my child, but I don't shy away from difficult topics.
“I know I want to blog about this
experience, but I don't know what to say yet. I'm going to have to
let the experience settle in for awhile,” I told Tammy.
I actually did know what I could write
about, but I wasn't sure I was ready to put it into words. What I was
feeling that day, as we walked around the few blocks of Heidelberg
Project, was out of my comfort zone. I didn't know if my feelings of
not feeling safe were real or imagined. I had to confront why it was
that my safety should be anymore important than someone else's. I also felt uncomfortable feeling like a tourist witnessing other people's real life--one so vastly different from my own. All
of this rattled around in my head. I couldn't articulate it to Tammy
and wasn't sure if I wanted to.
Cadence had more questions. We answered
as thoughtfully as we could and kept walking.
We made our way to a playground.
Cadence climbed on a jungle gym. I relaxed from the anxiety of my thoughts and contemplations. I saw a bar and decided to take a
crack at repeating my trapeze performance. Cadence captured my
efforts with my camera.
The cold air was making my ears ache.
We watched the clock and began to make our way back to the car. We
visited the gift shop before we returned to the car. Inside the
unheated building, there were photograph prints, books, and other art
pieces available for purchase. Cadence found the children's book
that told the story of Heidelberg Project,
Magic Trash by
J.H. Shapiro. We bought it and two pins for our travel pin
collections.
This place and the story that was
distilled for young readers made an impression on her. I asked her if
I could interview her for my blog. Our conversation is below:
Tell me what you saw at Heidelberg
Project.
I saw a lot of leftover stuff from
when people lived at the houses.
How were these things displayed?
There was like
um, okay um, I saw like sections of signs and cool stuff.
Help our readers understand what you
mean by leftover stuff:
Well, there was bad people destroyed
and rioted their neighborhood and destroyed the houses and this
artist whose name is Tyree Guyton was a person who collected all the
junk that people have left and turned it into art. His Grandpa lived
on the block and when Tyree was a little boy his grandpa loved to
paint. In fact, Tyree got to help and learn how to paint with his
grandpa. Tyree and his grandpa painted the house with polka dots.
And that began to transform the
neighborhood from a sad, rundown memory to an art exhibit, right?
Yeah.
What inspired you to choose this
book as your book character costume?
Well, if you would actually want to
know. It first started out when I went there and I went to my room
and I realized it was bring your favorite book character costume day
and I couldn't realize what I was going to wear and then I was
thinking that I could maybe be Tyree. So then I looked through all my
clothes and picked out a shirt and pants that didn't match. But it
was already arty, so then I went to my mom and said, “Do you think
this looks good?” and she said it looked awesome, so I picked out
that one and then my mom was like do you want to wear a bandana and
as soon as I heard that I was like Kabam! Of course I want to.
Then your outfit was complete! I was
impressed when you added a paintbrush which inspired me to make a
card board palette to add to your costume.
What feelings did you have at
Heidelberg Project?
I just thought it was cool because I
got to see how much junk people left and get it turned into a
masterpiece.
Is there anything else you would like
to tell our readers about our visit?
Yes, yes I do. Well, it was located in
Detroit and I was staying with my (Honorary) Aunt Tammy and her
family. And also I would like to tell you guys if you guys are
reading this thanks to all of you who support my mommy's writing and
her blog posts. Thanks for everything you do for my mom.
(This was
completely unsolicited.)
