The following is a sort of summary of the development and extension of a graffiti artist - or artists - in the Midtown section of Detroit, MI from Summer 2010 until this Spring. Although most of the shots I took with my phone are very substandard, I got obsessed with documenting what I was seeing more and more every time I walked around. (Many of these photos showed up without much context on fbk., so some of you may have seen some of these before.) The name of the artist(s) is HMD SNK.
Midtown: Midtown is really downtown Detroit, just north of the river and high rise buildings. It's comprised of Wayne State University, the College for Creative Studies, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library, Museum of Contemporary Art Det., and a major inner-city hospital. There are a bunch of galleries, eateries, concert venues, bars, student housing... old buildings being torn down, old buildings being replaced or refurbished, and old buildings being ignored. Street traffic is prevalent. The population is very diverse in all aspects, and heavy on students and what I call Geeks Like Me (you get the point). It's not the fanciest place on earth, but it's desirable if you want to be a city-dweller. There's a store of scary things, but all in all, it's a very not-scary part of Detroit.
Midtown has been my home for the last six and a half years. I've talked / presented enough about it on this blog that there's no need to retread. The focus here is on the weirdo(s) with the stickers...
When I thought it was HMP SNK (vs. HMD SNK): The first images I saw by HMD SNK were on a building that was gone a month later and is now being replaced by what looks to be student housing. I used these images in a guest-post here last year before I had any clue...
These had no signature on them. The hedgehog, or whatever it is, got pretty popular. One day I noticed a signature. Mistaking the D for a P, I thought the artist was HMP SNK. My silly brain decided that might have meant HEMP SNEAK, which I quite liked - envisioning little cartoon hedgehogs bringing me my weed orders in stealth mode.
Up and down the major streets of Midtown - Cass mostly, and Woodward - the little spiky dude kept showing up again and again, in a variety of moods. Note that as this goes on (these photos are in very rough chronological order), the decals are clearly made with US Postal stickers and packaging. That's when I starting getting goony and interested and building my own narrative about what was going on.
When HMP was obviously HMD: After some time, other characters / names started appearing as the artist(s) spread out over the side streets. This was when I thought that this indeed may be a couple of people, or even a collective. The placement of the decals, their precision, and locations like the backs of tall street signs indicated that it might be a team of people doing this. Monikers like Kick Face and Four Eyes appeared and seemed to be talking amongst themselves while I looked on. The hedgehog was sometimes accompanied by a signature with a much clearer D, and occasionally the words "Hand me down."
When it got even more interesting: It turned to Detroit winter. Because of a weird neurological ailment that placed my right arm in a splint reminiscent of either Edward Scissorhands or Freddy Krueger, I walked to and from physical therapy a few times per week. Physical therapy was located north of WSU, in a neighborhood called New Center Area. Once discovering that waiting for the bus got me colder and wetter than just putting on clothes and booting it, I decided to walk every day I could. This led me past some great graffiti by other recognizable artists, and by tons more HMD SNK. The decals couldn't be chiseled off fast enough before they were replaced. Other characters or symbols appeared. Again, they seemed to be having something of a conversation.
Adding to that, now the fronts of street signs and parking signs were getting plastered as well. That bold move raises a bunch of questions about any agenda the artist may have. I especially dug the attempt to match the color of the paint on the parking signs.
Deluge: The more trips I made, the more crappy photos I took, and the more interconnected this all seemed. The decals finally started showing up in area restrooms - the local places encourage bathroom grafitti. And on abandoned buildings. I was hoping that these people lived in my building, or that someone I knew was part of this, or knew someone who was. I have a couple of clues, but I'll respect the anonymity and revel in the guts, grace, and humor.
Conspiracy: HMD SNK's work cannot avoid notice. I googled it and such and came up with nothing. The initials do show up in some articles having to do with gaming - of which I know nothing. I can't impose a meaning to any of this other than how much it's brightened up most of the last year for me. I don't notice others waving cell phones in the air trying to capture these images, but I guess it can be old hat to some, an eyesore to others, pure illegal evil to others.
The work bears a little resemblance to that of Tyree Guyton. I chronicled some of Guyton's work on the amazing Heidelberg Project on this blog a couple of years ago, via the photographing talents of Lance Rosol. Guyton was clearly political, even angry, decorating / labeling abandoned buildings all over the Detroit area with his inimitable polka dots; whereas HMD SNK seems much more playful. But who knows what the master plan is? There's the feeling that it could blow up very big. It's probably blowing up somewhere I haven't yet noticed right as I type this. I'd love it if I caught them in an alley one night, or a friend of a friend tipped me off. For now, they get some major respect.
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p.s. RIP: Gil Scott-Heron. Hey. This weekend the artistic multi-talent, d.l., and this blog's official cultural ambassador of Detroit aka Statictick gives us a special walkthrough and treasure hunt and 'best of' of his environs. That it's a beauty of a thing is a big duh, and I'll leave you to count the ways then forge a commiserate repartee with him. Thanks! And huge thanks to you, host man! ** David Ehrenstein, Thanks, David. Tim's death battered the universe, that's for sure. I agree that 'ToL's' staying and growing power is really something. Crazy that Marker is 95. Really, he's as active and top of things as he's ever been. He just had a big show in NYC of his new photographs that got raves, and apparently he has two new films coming out this year. I showed Yury the start of the Russian clip this morning, and he said that since it's more than hour long, he would watch it when he gets off work later and give me a summary that I will pass on to you on Monday, I guess. ** Empty Frame, Hey. Then ... oh, you mean at the time of that group photo? I was doing a reasonable amount of coke around then, but nothing outrageous by any means. I look to myself like I was pissed off about something to do with the photo shoot itself maybe, but fuck knows what at this point. Wenders has a new film? See, there's a director where I don't get why there's the big acclaim, excepting 'Wings of Desire' and certain things here and there in and about a few of his other films. Yeah, those heavy, hungry art inputting periods are great, the best. It would be awesome to keep hearing about what you find along the way. ** Christopher/ Mark, Yes, I have those very same, often revisited memories myself. Oh, I don't suppose there's any chance that you might be coming to Paris for the performances of 'Duets' and 'Quartet' here this December, is there? I sure would love that. ** L@rstonovich, Thanks for the list tidbits. Making them happy, that's good. I thought you might be slipping some Butthole Surfers in there or something, but you're doing the right thing. I'm going to go find 'Porcupine Pie'. The title is promising. I would love to read the 33 1/3 on 'A Nation of Millions'. What a great idea! Yeah, good, I'm going to order that today. Awesome! ** Posing at the Louvre, Oh, chocolate would be nice if you see some little piece that screams 'me'. Will you get back to London in time to see the Five Years show, I forget? ** Frank Jaffe, Hi, Frank! Everything is sort of good, thanks. You're going to NYC for the big opening with your boyfriend in tow? I'm jealous, both about getting to see the show and about being able to bring your boyfriend. Yes, you do sound bubbly. It's a very nice sound. Great about the zine. Koes ... you mean former d.l. Dutch Koes? Very cool, if so. I had me some Hard Rock nachos not two weeks ago, so it's just about time for more. Eat a Donut Factory coconut cream donut for me. Holy shit! ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hey, Jeff. Yes, I would say Tim's post-religious awakening poems integrate that input seamlessly and unobtrusively. The jumpiness in his poetry gave way to a kind of ripply serenity. No, I don't know how 'ToF' will affect my next novel yet. I think thoroughly rather than apparently, although I would like to do something with the unlocatable, death-based voiceover. Things are stirring, yeah, but it's very early. I'm doing voice and form experiments mostly while the inspiration moves forward and settles. At this point, apart from wanting to make something very emotional, if I can, I'm mostly seeing if and how I can move the new things I learned to do via making 'TMS' into a very different kind of approach. Anyway, I'm into whatever will be next but not too far into it yet. Thanks for asking, man. ** Polter, Hey, Polter! That day you had was amazing. Well, it filtered through amazingly would be a more accurate statement, I guess. I wish I could keep and describe details from my life like that. I keep them, but I don't trust my way with words enough. I can do the imaginary justice but not what really happened to me. Strange, that. Anyway, that day was rich and felt great! That's what I meant to say. Even only knowing what you told me, I already understand why you like the guy who does the wrong things. Or I'm relating. When I feel that, I get excited and worried about myself. Stay knightlike. Obviously, you will. Things okay here. I'm busy, and that's good, but that busyness is making the thing I most want to do, which is go home (LA) for a visit, hard because the busyness is putting all these things in my way, and what I want to do keeps getting squeezed out and delayed, that's making me quite sad, and so I'm feeling sad a lot right now, and the sadness is interfering with the busyness too, so, I guess, ultimately, things aren't that great, but I'll figure it out because I have to. It's so very nice to see you, buddy! ** Alter Clef Records, Hey, N. Listened to the first half or so before I had to split, and it's fucking awesome, and I will continue what is proving to be the amazing voyage this weekend. I'm in London from the 8th to the 11th, mostly probably in the gallery putting the show up, but there at least. Anyway, catching up seems pretty guaranteed. Haven't seen the 'Composers' series unless I saw some of it without knowing it was his project. I'll check. Sounds awfully fruitful. 'The Marbled Swarm' is only coming out in paperback. Hardcover books are becoming like the buffalo. I haven't had a book come out in hardcover for ages. It's good. ** Ken Baumann, Hey, Ken! The only thing that university has over blog post making is the guaranteed high paying job waiting at the end, ha ha. 'Tree of Life' at the Dome, perfect, wow. Perfect. So, the 'LA Noire' hype is a little hypey? That is comforting for a Wii loyalist to hear, thank you. I'll just go demo it at the local game store and get a graphics hit. ** Patrick deWitt, Hi, Patrick! Thanks! New Wave me, ha ha. I will admit there was a Tears for Fears album waiting for me when I got home. ** Sypha, So cool of your parents to save that stuff. Yeah, post the highlights, for sure. Funny how the titles of those books on your old reading list could so easily adorn the books in the line up of ads/books that stripe the top of HTMLG, for instance, albeit used with a less straight face. ** Schlix, Hi, Uli, and thanks a lot. Vacation in hometown Berlin sounds really nice. Are you guys getting this amazing spring weather that's been hovering Paris for a while now? The outdoors has rarely looked better. Cool, I'll find those things you mentioned in the new Wire. It's lying by my left elbow waiting to be cracked for the first time. Great weekend to you, pal. ** Chris Cochrane, Hey. Yeah, I'll be writing and sending the email when I finish here. Hunh, interesting about the comparison for you between 'ToF' and the Pasolini. I don't get Pasolini's films, so I'll scratch my head and think interestingly about that. Monday at 7 pm my time sounds good. You sent me your phone number, right? I'll go find it. ** Brendan, Hey. I've only looked initially at the images of the new work because the post construction got delayed until today due to real life interference, so I'll say more later, but the new work looks different, yes, but fantastic! The difference is quite exciting, and it's not like your sensibility and aesthetic aren't in there in new forms. Great! If certain pieces fall into place, I'll be seeing Glenn Branca do one of his guitar symphonies tonight, which isn't Metal by any means, but the assault aspect should be awesome if I can manage what needs to be managed. ** Steevee, Yes, RIP indeed. A very sad surprise, that news. ** Andrew, Hey. Yeah, making ball-jointed dolls from scratch sounds tricky, but ... I don't know. Is there any way you could buy one and either take it apart and use it as template or reinvent/add to a preexisting one, at least to get the project going? ** Bernard Welt, Yeah, even though I managed to say something about Tim, it is really hard to know what to say. My thoughts turn maximalist. 'He did have an amazing O'Hara-like ability to find the key to a poem and bang it out': That is so, so true. I'd say you were his greatest discovery, for me anyway, so there you go. I've been really interested to see 'Police, Adjective'. Let me know how that is. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, Hey. I can see that dream both as horrifying and as a Halloween mask. Not at the same time. It's kind of sad about the 'Dark Tower' thing probably falling apart. It was so ambitious, I was excited. I mean, there's the whole 'Avengers' thing with the offshoot movies and all that, but that doesn't even come close. Ha ha, I loved that cigarette lighter travail ending up with the hiccups. That was awesome. Sorry for your trouble therein, though. I guess you can buy lighters that start to flash a little a little warning light or turn a different color or something when they're about to die, but I always buy the cheap ones they sell by the cash register for some reason. I haven't seen 'Angels in America', but I always figure it's going to make cry, and I've probably avoided it because crying has its ups and downs. I love that cashier with the laugh. You never get wacky cashiers in Paris. I can't think of a single one. They're always just efficient and very carefully nice. My day: Worked on the zine. Worked on the blog. Agreed to give another interview for a book that I think is going to be a book of interviews with queer poets. An American book. Interview via Skype. Looked for recipes to make Alfredo sauce, but they were all way too labor intensive for me. Worked on the program we're going to propose for the Pompidou festival. I found this young video game designer who makes crazy games and lives in Paris, so I added a possible lecture and demonstration by him to our events list. And a couple of other ideas. Gisele wrote to me to suggest we add an event featuring this woman Stéphanie Sauget who's an expert on the history of haunted houses, and I wrote back said, Definitely! I went out to buy food and ended up walking around because it was perfect weather to do that. When I got back and stepped into the Recollets elevator, there was this man dressed in a suit already there who seems to be staying on the same floor as me. He kept looking at me during the ride up with this kind bemusement or something, and then he said, 'You must be an artist', I guess because I dress so casual/crappy for a guy my age, and I said, I am, Yeah, but I also added that I need to do my laundry, which isn't true, but I decided that I didn't want him to be able to peg me so easily. He looked like a businessman, but I didn't say that to him because I'm nice. In the evening, I went to that poetry reading. Hardly any Recollets residents showed up, which was kind of uncomfortable. There were may eight people there. The poetry was pretty good, especially these poems from a book of his that I guess is pretty famous called 'Wolf One Eye'. It turns out he isn't Swedish but rather Latvian but living in Sweden. Anyway, it was nice, and I guess he lives on my hall, so I guess I'll probably have a coffee with him sometime or something. After that, nothing much happened other than eating and some online this and that. Then bedtime. No, you have a great weekend, my friend, promise me, and then spill all the beans on Monday, okay? ** Postitbreakup, Hey, Josh. I'm okay, all in all, I guess. Oh, you told me about your day, cool. It was more eventful than mine was, I think, when you add everything up. Really, do you think the 'Jeepers Creepers' movies are bad? I really like them. One of the negatives about living in France is that they never -- and I mean never -- show horror movies on TV. Never! It's ridiculous. They've shown 'The Shining', but that doesn't count because they have the Kubrick excuse. What were the bizarre food concoctions? I'm curious. ** Misanthrope, Hey, pal. If Tim was still alive, you would definitely have met him, and he would have dazzled you, word. Shaq rules. He even curated a pretty hip art show at a swanky, cool art gallery in NYC last year. Watching him dunk shots is a little piece on heaven. I only clicked over to that video long enough to read the title and bailed immediately, but, yes, our joust would/will be far more civilized, knowing us. ** Colin, Hi, Colin! I know, I haven't gotten my copy of the book either. Grr. Nightboat are truly a great press. They're doing really amazing work. One classic after another. I didn't know about that Bern Porter book, wow. Oh, it's looking like there's about a 90% chance that I'll be here for your visit and reading, so I'm excited! ** Slatted light, Hey, man! How really great to see you! Awesome! Yes, yes, about Tim's genius. Beautifully put. Ha ha, funny about that Dlugosian line. Yeah, I can see that infection. Weird. Oh, so you're big upping 'LA Noire'. Now I'm confused. You're making a great case there. I think maybe Oscar said she was going to buy it, and she has an Xbox, so maybe she'll lend them to me when she and Kiddiepunk are on their honeymoon. That's interesting you mention that Dalkey book because someone yesterday told me they'd seen you prop it on ... FB maybe? ... and of course that made me instantly interested in the first place. Now I'll buy it. I just read another Dalkey book, Edouard Leve's 'Suicide'. I knew Edouard, but his work wasn't translated into English until after he died, and it's very graceful and intense and playful and very moving. So, I guess I'm recommending it in return. Gee, it's awfully good to see you, man. I've missed you. I wish you a weekend full of everything you wish. ** With that, you guys enjoy Statictick's awesome post-shaped show, okay? And tell him stuff. And I'll go be a weekender now and then ultimately see you back here come Monday.
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