I’m very excited to be visiting Detroit for the first time, so I went back to look at the incredible photos taken by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre for their book The Ruins of Detroit. It’s hard to believe that they could exist in 21st century America, although if you’ve seen The Omega Man, with Charlton Heston cruising a trash-strewn deserted downtown Los Angeles in a convertible, it doesn’t seem so farfetched. Along with Soylent Green and Planet of the Apes, a great triple-bill of Heston starring late sixties/early seventies cheesy (in a good way) post-apocalyptic sci-fi.

On a more positive note, there is a lot of exciting urban renewal and creative activity going on in Detroit that I’m looking forward to checking out, such as the Russell Industrial Center, a massive former factory complex that has been converted into a hub for artists, craftsmen, designers and small manufacturers.

What a beautiful office in the Berlin home of film director and producer Jan Schmidt-Garre. Chief Wahoo approves.

More at Freunde von Freunden

At the Frieze New York Art Fair, doors made of statuary marble by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (according to Art Review magazine, the most powerful figure in the art world). I’ve no doubt there’s a deeper cultural and artistic significance, but in purely aesthetic terms, those are some awesome doors.

On the right is an inverted fiberglass sun by Anish Kapoor. Don’t stare at it too long, I hear it can fry your retinas.

I’m not sure of the origin of this chart, but I love the look of it. Although I must say, as an instructive tool I find it more confusing than clarifying. Perhaps that was the intention?

Striking image by photographer Richard Powers, taken in the New York home of designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg. The strong perspective and bright light draw you in, but the high contrasts of light/heavy, smooth/rough, and shiny/dull in the furnishings are what bring it to life. Divine.

Close-up of an early coffee table design in walnut. The soft focus was accidental, but I love how it gives it a heavenly glow.

For his series a due Colori, Alberto Seveso photographed ink underwater. Gorgeous colors and fluid forms.

Spotted . . . on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland. Dicey.

Here’s a subversive use of trompe-l’oeil. Berlin based artist EVOL created the illusion of an underground city in a meadow outside Hamburg for the MS Dockville Music & Arts Festival.