Joe Horner Exhibition at Xhibition Lights Up the North End of Detroit's Capitol Park

Xhibition and Pleasures Even Produced A Custom Line of Hoodies and Tees To Celebrate Horner's Show, "Oh God!"

Oct 07, 2023

Friday, October 6th, 2023 at 7:31 PM
The Lobby of the Book Tower &
The Roost Hotel
Adjacent to the Bar Rotunda
Detroit Michigan

I am living out a fantasy called "The Paris of the Midwest". I have borrowed this fantasy from the children of the rich doctor who built this tower, the first skyscraper in Detroit. The three Book siblings built the tower following French architectural cues. Architect Louis Kamper supplied the blueprints. Not a few Detroiters followed the French trend when constructing their mansions, especially the homes on Alfred at Woodward, near the stadium called Little Caesars Arena.

I have a wait before the Lucky Linwood Bus 29 has arrived to chauffeur me home to LaSalle and Midland Street. I prefer to enjoy my heel cooling in refined environments. A focus on French culture feels appropriate because a French aristocrat, Monsieur Cadillac, have the city a French name. Many know that Detroit describes the narrow straits of the river between Lakes St. Claire and Erie.

Tonight, I came downtown to celebrate the work of culture by attending an art opening at a lifestyle clothing store at nearby Grand River and Griswold. Xhibition purveys sneakers and trendy clothing, even limited edition hats and hoodies honoring the artist who opens a solo show tonight. Pabst Blue Ribbon, a hipster brand, sponsored the show. Several coolers stuffed with ice and cold cans of PBR awaited visitors.

For fun, I directed hipsters on the sidewalk into the shoe, if just to grab a cold one. “Hey, come inside. There’s three coolers stuffed with PBR on ice. Help yourself.” I made a few friends this way, adding a new crowd to the happening. Maybe that’s my role at a party now that I’ve turned sixty years old. I know how to catalyze a party.

I had to laugh as I walked up to the store, located on a public space found at the corner of Grand River and Griswold. The artist Joe Horner has a schtick of putting a white Mercedes Benz convertible up on cement blocks, resting the brake rotors right on the blocks. Horner published a print photographing this stunt, putting it on sale tonight, a limited edition. I had a moment to talk to Horner. “Joe, I had to laugh. That’s the first time I spotted a car up on cement blocks in Detroit and no one swiped the tires!”

That joke worked over and over again tonight. A press corp of photographers posed all the model types all dressed up with that Mercedes and people strolling the public space posed with the white sports car. Horner truly activated the north end of Capitol Park tonight. Capitol Park briefly served as a location of the Michigan capitol.

The park has vibrant foot traffic, like the BELT, but the BELT feels closer in theme to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Walkers through Capitol Park often have left upscale dinner destinations, such as Leila's. I heard the consonants of the Lebanese language more than once tonight as I watched people react to the convertible up on blocks..

My favorite bus, the Lucky Linwood 29, didn’t arrive to Rosa Parks Transit Center by Eight PM, so I considered my alternatives. The Hammy Hamilton 23, the Daring Dexter 16 and the Fearless Fenkell 18. I bolted for the Fenkell, which cruises right up Rosa Parks most of the way, passing right by ground zero of the Sixty-Seven riots near the Congregation. Exiting the run at Normandy and Fenkell, the walk back home felt okay, considering the good medicine given to me by the rheumatologists at Henry Ford Health Thursday. I walked home strongly with far less pain, and I felt grateful. Cold air whipped up by a wind kept me walking fast, and the light drops of rain motivated me to avoid dawdling.