HAMTRAMCK DDA Online

The new online home of the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority is live. I created the visual design while Lindsay Karty performed the technical magic. I think this site was an essential step for the HDDA.

As a former board member of the HDDA I am very excited to see that step taken. I know the board is pleased to have a broader public face to help support and bolster its endeavors. Downtown Hamtramck's modest but completely unique presence is bound to increase exponentially — both in the ether and in the real world.

Luke BUTLER

_{Captain Crew, acrylic on canvas, 2008}

If there's one thing I miss about running the gallery – besides all the brie, baguette and wine – it is of course all the new artists I got to meet, work with, and enjoy the work of. It has been a severe drought since November of 2006 when we shut the PR1MARY doors. Today I got that rush again.

I spotted the work of Luke Butler on my friend Marci Washington's Flickr account. Marci and Luke are both seeking their MFAs from CCA (California College of the Arts), and had open studios recently. The painting above, Captain Crew was among the work shown.

What a great representation of an abstract but certainly familiar fixture of Star Trek — the incapacitated crew. It's one of my favorite subjects in painting, the re-purposed [pop] cultural iconography. Like Damien Loeb's paintings of the HAL-9000 D-Gama (screens), this painting repositions an element of classic science fiction, as an abstract artistic statement. While I'm not sure of Mr. Butler's exact purpose here, I find the image of the crew lying either unconscious or dead in a limitless space extremely provocative. The average Star Trek fan might want an image of Kirk or the Enterprise in action, but this more somber image appeals to both the sci fi kid in me, and the adult who's attracted to the underside of familiarity.

Be sure to check out both Luke and my friend Marci as soon as you have a chance. For good measure, stop by Deth's as well.

One more for depth.

_{The End, transfer letters on paper, 2007}

Senz RAIN DEFLECTION SYSTEM

Mine eyes caught this unusual umbrella design by Senz in a recent update from [what is now] Detroit's own Mezzanine.



[From Mezzanine:] The Senz Mini Umbrella is aerodynamically designed so it turns itself to the best position in the wind. The spokes of the umbrella have unique eye-savers so there are no opthalmic mishaps on the street, and there is a perfect view from under the umbrella. The patented reinforced rib construction means the umbrella withstands up to 40mph winds without inverting. And it all collapses to a little 11" baton for easy transport.

As I prepare to head to New York at the end of the typically rainy April, I'll have to keep my eye open for this unique umbrella and see if it appears to be deflecting the rain in exemplary fashion. And if you haven't been to Mezzanine in Harmony Park yet, I highly suggest stopping by.