“…the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.”
~~~Juvenal
DETROIT — The auto show has come a long way since 2009 when some people thought it was all she wrote.
Armed with my press pass on Opening Day of Press Week at the NAIAS, I went over to the Lincoln Exhibit as is my wont to check out the super-hot models. The cars aren’t bad, either….
I spoke with Darian about the blue 2017 Continental they had at the Exhibit, and, she knew a lot about it. It’s only got 6 cylinders; but I bet it could outrun a few police cars with its Ford know-how. After all, Ford knows how to run a business better than GM.
Before I left Lincoln, Darian graciously allowed me to photograph her in front of said Continental. Ford should give her that car for making that photograph a work of art. After all, a car can neither smile, nor wear heels like Darian can!
I also spoke to a man named Sam at Lincoln. He and I got along well as our eyes roamed the exhibit at all the models: some in heels, some on wheels, some sedans, some SUVs starting with the letter “X”! How sexy!
I told Sam that Ford is my favorite American car company because it didn’t ask for a bailout in 2008/2009. Sam thanked me for my kind words when I left; but let me tell you an anecdote he related to me about those troubled times.
A man from Germany called Sam after the Great Bubble Burst of October 2008, saying he was assuming the NAIAS was going to be cancelled for January 2009…..Sam adamantly reassured the man that show would go on. Just like the circus.
Maybe it’s sort of like when, during The Great Depression of 1929-1939, Hollywood movies were all the rage. My dad was born in April 1929 and loved Shirley Temple and her movies when he was a kid. People need their “bread and circuses” (or movies).
Shifting gears, General Motors seems to have gotten its mojo back. It doesn’t have Matthew McConaughey; but its GMC division threw a nice party at MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit), launching its 2018 Terrain and Denali. It was a very nice presentation with plenty of drama.
Aside from one lady from GM inexplicably giving me the evil eye (perhaps because I deigned to look her in the eye?), and another GM lady denigrating my blue alma mater, everyone there was really nice. I met one lady artist who did a nice landscape commissioned by GM.
I spoke with Tim and another guy from MOCAD while I was there. They were cool – even after I mentioned to them that I’m an artist. So is Tim.
Oh, and the crab cakes were simply fabulous.
Tim explained to my friend that MOCAD exhibits contemporary art, viz., art by living artists; whereas Modern Art was an actual art movement of the past. So, Tim and I are both contemporary artists; and, I’m also an Ultra-Renaissance artist, since I founded the art movement in 1981; and haven’t shut it down, or do I intend to. I wrote a few manifestos, too. I was inspired by the Dadaists to make one.
In closing, the Hyundai party at Punch Bowl Social on Saturday, January 14, 2017 was off the hook. People were really enjoying themselves there. Drinks, eats, bowling, darts, and even gloves as a parting gift! It’s nice that the NAIAS brings such a positive energy to my birth-city. I hope the show goes on for a long time to come!
