Ruin porn, dreamers and you -- a meditation on Detroit's future

Adhering to the axiom that art is meant to be controversial (nay, even prescriptive), a recent essay from NYC-based website The Awl attempts to justify "ruin porn" -- a new term for the practice of capturing cities in destruction that's become shorthand for a culture of photography in the D. This bitter, often sarcastic piece won't be for everyone, but it's the latest attempt to justify the competing narratives for the city's present state and the shaping of its future.

Excerpt:

With so much of Detroit about to disappear, does this not provide us with an excellent opportunity to document that which we will not be able to document in the near future? Instead of decrying voyeurism, why not consider these photographs and stories a reminder that in America we actually do abandon our neighbors and let our cities die, time and time again.

You can find the essay here.