Reinvention: Rouge Photographs by Michelle Andonian
Story by Suzanne Moughania

The impact of an artist’s work depends on his or her ability to reach out to the public. “That’s what we do,” says Michelle Andonian. “We make people see something mundane and ordinary in a different light. That's our job.”

Detroit photographer Michelle Andonian has spent the past two and a half years documenting the renovation of the Ford Rouge complex. The result is her new exhibit, “Reinvention: Rouge Photographs,” currently on display at the College for Creative Studies Center Galleries in Detroit. The exhibit chronicles her unprecedented access to the Ford Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan.

The Rouge Plant’s history is both central to the automotive world and key to the foundation of art in Detroit. Built from 1917 to 1925, it was a revolutionary manufacturing complex and a model for the first industrial revolution. Its influence on artists traces back to 1932, when Edsel Ford commissioned Diego Rivera to create the Detroit Industry Mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Story continues...

"Reinvention" slide show | "Reinvention" thumbnails
Michelle Andonian's Web site