Riding Detroit's Public Bus System
Isolated Observations: D-DOT
This body of work is derived from utilizing Detroit’s public transportation system. Riding the bus three to five hours a day, I witness the coming together and breaking apart of people within a space. My reaction to the abundance of source material led to the practice of limiting my observational drawings to record only what I see in terms of one color each day. This methodology of isolating subject matter through the lens of color results in an in-depth look at the apparel of fellow bus riders. Clothes offer clues to the culture of a place on many levels. Simplified to shapes of color, they become signifiers, indicating age, sex, occupation, climate and of course, personality.
Working on Dura-Lar (semi-transparent paper), provides the possibility of combining multiple drawings into one composition. “Monday thru Friday” illustrates a week of mapping colors within the bus.
photo: PD Rearick