Ruin Porn

Ford's River Rouge Plant, once a mighty symbol of American industrial prowess now represents the former car capital of Detroit becoming more famous for its near-apocalyptic urban blight than its automotive ingenuity... Marketing itself as a film location on that basis for action movies whose scripts add even more demolition to existing decay.

Visiting artists have grown enchanted with the irresistible appeal of crumbling architecture and ghost-city streets, creating work known as “ruin porn” from images like the former ballroom at the abandoned Lee Plaza Hotel.

Life magazine documented the ugly phenomenon in Detroit Still Life. But its epitome may be exhibited in photographer Andrew Moore's astonishing book Detroit Disassembled.

Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra looks into how Detroit’s own local artists feel about ruin porn and what it says about the city.

Debating Deconstructing Destruction Audio Embed: Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, 1/7/11.

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Jon Rich - "Shutting Detroit Down" (2009)