It often happens that news events create a new context for existing photo projects, and such is the case with Philip Jarmain’s photos of Detroit in light of the city's recent filing for bankruptcy. Jarmain's series American Beauty documents architecture from a pre-Depression era Detroit – a time when the city was on the rise. They now stand in contrast to its current rock-bottom economic straits.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of photographers have flocked to Detroit during the city's long slide, documenting its demise and creating an entire category of "ruin porn." But Jarmain sees his work as optimistic and uplifting. Whether his photos stand as a goodbye to a glory forever passed or an inspiration for what the city could be again, is a matter of perspective.
“What I’m trying to do is document these buildings carefully and with craft,” Jarmain says. “The buildings are part of a history filled with ingenuity, innovation and entrepreneurship. They’re part of a record that is about brilliant minds coming together to create the capitalist frontier and the middle class of America.”
Jarmian is Canadian, but he has strong ties to Detroit. His great grandfather played for the Detroit Symphony, his grandfather was an architect in the city and his uncle was the head of PR for Ford.
“I never really spent any time there growing up but I’ve realized that I have a stronger connection to the city than I thought,” he says.
Jarmain started the project in 2010 and during the past three years has traveled to Detroit from his home in Vancouver nine times to make pictures and collaborate with locals, such as Sean Doerr, concerned about preserving Detroit’s rich architectural legacy.
Written by Jakob Schiller