Morning came through the window, Saelee and I waking up in the afternoon, walking over to the Yellow House and along with Richard Colman, Monica Canilao and Harrison, piling into the van and driving over to the diner a mile or so down the road.

Between conversation of the project and several other things, we ordered and ate the food as it was brought out to us, a familiar waiter from several days ago once again seating us.

We quickly finished the meal and drove back to the neighborhood to begin work, the day spreading itself outward like so many leaves falling from a tree.

From Saelee’s house I wandered next door to the space where Ben Wolf was working on his installation and sculpture. 

Once piled with debris and detritus from the alleyway behind it, along with years of untended plant-growth, the space was now cleared and occupied with several dormers and sections of houses which Ben is using to construct his sculpture. 

I wandered through the space for a brief moment, turning the corner and from the alleyway behind the block, seeing a multi-colored Bobcat wheeling its way over, pushing aside piles of dirt and pieces of scrap before stopping in front of a large dormer. 

The task of today is to take a dormer, near two-thousand pounds in weight, and place it in a way between the two houses so that it can sit comfortably while being suspended several feet in the air; from there, taking the smaller dormers and piling them underneath in a pattern.

Ben and Charlie, along with Mitch who was seated in the Bobcat, went over their plan to move and place the dormer. 

The process was extremely long, with several starts and stops, at one point a cable breaking and the Bobcat getting stuck in between a tree and the corner of the house- but through it all, and through the light rain which started to fall, the three of them managed to place and put the dormer several feet up, suspended in mid air through a rudimentary though efficient system of wood, cables, tethers and columns. 

Described by Ben Wolf as an “architectural mutation,” the dormer was attached in a way where it seemed exactly that- as if it were an extra limb, tumor, or torso protruding outside the walls from one house to the other.

Through an intricate combination of pulleys, grips and cables, they hoisted the rest of the pieces together in an organized cluster formation, with Ben guiding and sawing sections of each piece assiduously so that they fit together in the proper pattern. 

I was with them for awhile, assisting and lending a hand when I could, taking photos and notes otherwise before leaving and wandering through the other artist’s homes. 

*

The day eventually turned to evening. I walked over to the house next to the wood-shop, staying there for a brief moment concentrating on writing and editing several photos shot with Ben, Mitch and Charlie while working. 

After a few hours, engrossed in my work, neighborhood friend Chris Riddell came over where we talked for an extended amount of time about the project, the city and several other things.

Chris eventually left, and after finishing a few things, I left too- locking the house up and walking over to Monica Canilao’s house where everyone was gathered on the top floor, eating an order of pizza that they had delivered while songs from Mariah Carey moved throughout the room, merging with the voices of everyone’s conversation and laughter. 

I ate for awhile, sitting on the floor of the carpet talking with Harrison and Saelee. 

The night progressed, I made my way to the balcony, peering out of the spaces of the space and seeing the street: its image blending downward with those other smaller streets and eventually the night skyline which had within it downtown Detroit and the freeway. I watched the cars far off moving and turning, their lights blurring and joining the pavement in colors of red, yellow and white, while the street, wet with rain, distantly reflected the innumerable stars strung above in a cloudless sky.

We continued to eat for a few more moments, talking and spreading conversation until eventually everyone left, continuing to work until the sun pushed its way into the sky and tomorrow became today.

- Jason Jaworski

Detroit, MI - 10/25/2010

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Photograph by Tod Seelie

Words by Jason Jaworski

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