COMMUNITY
JEWFRO
Fine Art Appraisers and Auctioneers — Since
192,7
December Auction Dates
Friday the loth
Sunday the 12th
Saturday the 11th
Estates of Phyllis &Ralph Bonin; Norina Simon
I.)l H I HABER CHANEL JEWELRY
ANTIQUE CHINESE EXPORT COLLECTION
3,70 CI. NATURAL
ALEXANDRITE AND APPROX, 3,0CTIV
CHINESE CARVED CARNELIAN KOI FISH,
TWO, H 2", W 3 3/4", ON WO()[) BASES
DIAMOND
EXTENs1VE 1- 1ANIMAG (11:OLLECTIONC
_BROOCH
t N 6.1CT HANEL, JUDI'17H LEITER, PAt()MA
PICASSO,
FEND!
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1..4*
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7 AM ~
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ALFRED EISENSTAEDT,
KONSTANTIN MAKOVSKY,
GELATIN SILVER PRINT,
(ML ON BOARD, 1883,
•
•
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1932 But 1991 PAIN I NO, 26"X2
22"; RUSSIAN 1839=1915
2";
17" X 11"
TIFFANY STUDMS WM1 DINANDERIE
ixAmp GLASS LAMP VASE, C,
SHADE, DIA 14"
1()"
H 23 1/2"
'What's in our :Attic.?
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Wednesdays and Saturdays from Iiam.4pm, we will be
pleased to accept artwork and antiques for our upcoming monthly auctions,
DETRovr 4M1 48 11 6
TEL 313.963.62SS www.DUMOARIcom
409
8 December 2010
F.
TIM
I'm Not
From
Detroit,
But My
T-Shirt Is
By Ben Falik
7 n the Venn diagram of my life (or, as I like
to call it, "Bens Diagram"), Detroit and T-
shirts make up large, overlapping circles.
For as long as I have been ashamed of my
inverted nipples and proud of my central
city, few things have felt or fit better than a
snug, broken-in Detroit tee.
Detroit T-shirts trace their roots to the
fateful day Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Ca-
dillac pulled ashore rocking a "The Cadillac
of French Explorers"T-shirt. In the 300 years
since, T-shirts have evolved into a critical
medium for expressing our artistic sensi-
bilities, political beliefs — and which of the
people we are standing with is "stupid."
T-shirts allow us to share a sense of place,
wherever we may find ourselves. And more
than ever, people are "chestifying"their
devotion to — and affection for — Detroit
in numerous ways.
Manufacturers include: Made in Detroit,
Real Detroit, Pure Detroit, Enjoy Detroit,
Detroit Love, Detroit Sprinkles, Detroit
Built, Detroit Muscle, Detroit Moves Me
and — joining the fray recently, thanks to
Detroirex-pat" mentshen Aaron Singer and
Robbie Biederman — Mighty Detroit.
So, just what makes Detroit such irresist-
ible T-shirt fodder?
It seems it is no longer dominated by
Detroit's social and/or economic woes. The
pejorative "Detroit: Where the Weak are
Killed and Eaten"and "Sorry We Missed You"
(with gun pointed at reader) seem increas-
ingly rare — even as technology has made
the silk screen process inexpensive and
simple to execute.
Nor can we chalk it up to nostalgia
alone: The vast majority of wearers gained
"Detroit-consciousness" well after cars had
fins, Hudson's downtown elevators stopped
running and obstructed-view seats at Tiger
games (courtesy of big steel beams) were
not considered "unreasonable."
Instead, Detroit evokes a complex
combination of emotions and motives that
somehow — (allow me to tackle this formi-
dable subject in haiku) — is best captured
between our sleeves.
And, not surprisingly, today's Detroit
T-shirts have some recurring themes: a
blend of working-class history with creative
contributions and, ultimately, a sense of
irrefutable authenticity that's hard to find
in the suburbs or the Sun Belt.
On a practical note, "Detroit" is such low-
hanging fruit because it's free. Brand names
and logos — even the Tigers'"D"— are
legally protected as intellectual property;
geographical names are not.
Maybe they should be? After all, it is
the citizenry of Detroit who vest their city
with the tenacity and perseverance that
makes "Detroit" a "chest-worthy" offering.
Shouldn't city residents get a piece of the
action? Royalties on merchandise deploy-
ing "Detroit"could work like the City of
Detroit income tax — but on your torso.
To that end, the invisible hand of the free
market is already sowing the seeds of profit
disbursement. Somerset Collection's new
Detroit Shoppe boasts, "One hundred per-
cent of the proceeds from the sale of mer-
chandise goes to charity!' Mighty Detroit,
too, donates a portion of its proceeds from
each sale to Greening of Detroit, a dynamic
and deserving organization.
Don't worry; your kid will still have street
cred — even if his "Warriors of the Working
Class"T-shirt comes from Peek-a-Bootique
in West Bloomfield. However, even I
couldn't overlook the irony of a pink onesie
featuring the iconoclastic Joe Louis fist,
replete with the slogan "Fight History!'
Of course, T-shirts can't solve all our
problems. People still "Mess with Texas;'
refuse to" NY" and DARE to do drugs.
And remember, sometimes a T-shirt is just
a T-shirt.
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