Post by outerborough on Jul 31, 2013 9:13:05 GMT -8
From The Detroit News
Artist makes statement in Crisco after Detroit bankruptcy filing
by Serena Maria Daniels
Detroit — Sitting underneath the iconic bronze Joe Louis fist is what appears to be a giant can of Crisco.
To the left of the massive cooking shortening replica, a sign reads, “Helping to ease the pain of Detroit’s bankruptcy.”
Jerry Peterson, 57, a West Bloomfield artist and organizer of the “Dirty Show” who goes by Jerry Vile, says it’s his way of getting people to talk about the implications of the city’s historic bankruptcy filing this month.
“It’s calling attention to the fact that (bankruptcy) is going to hurt,” Vile told The Detroit News on Tuesday. “I’m hoping that people will do something to cut down on that hurt, to ease the pain.”
Peterson, organizer of one of the largest exhibitions of erotic art in the country, and a team of collaborators unloaded the giant can about 7 a.m. Tuesday. While a few motorists stopped and made jokes, he made the delivery relatively unnoticed.
And then the Crisco can began to gain traction on social media sites.
“It’s all over Facebook, Twitter. It’s starting to appear on Instagram,” Peterson said. “This thing is blowing up beyond my wildest dreams.”
The text messages have been streaming onto Peterson’s cellphone from all over the country. “I haven’t got this many texts ... ever.”
Jime Noseda, an attorney who works in City Hall, said he noticed the bright blue can from his fifth floor office and had to come down to get a closer look during his lunch break.
“The fist brings out all kinds of things in people,” Noseda said. “I think a bottle of K-Y jelly would be more appropriate,” said Marc A. Deldin, another attorney who joined Noseda for lunch.
That would have been too expected, Peterson said.
So why Crisco? The greasy, white substance, Peterson explained, has historical significance within the gay community.
“It’s a cheap, readily available lubricant that was highly popular in the late 70s, early 80s, in a certain segment of underground gay America,” he said. “If it was Vasoline or K-Y, it’s too obvious, and their packaging isn’t as pretty. I would never have considered anything else.”
From The Detroit News: www.detroitnews.com/article/20130730/METRO01/307300085#ixzz2adzzNAWI
