“7 Mile + Livernois” from the Detroit Institute of Arts celebrates Detroit as a place for Black women to live and create by elevating both the work of the artist, Tiff Massey, and the community from which she comes.
The exhibition draws attention to how Detroit is represented in the national – and even global – imagination.
As an art historian specializing in modern and contemporary art from the African diaspora, I found the exhibition utterly fascinating. I appreciate the ways in which the show recognizes the desire for connection and self-expression among black people. I also admire how the show empowers and inspires everyone who visits.
Named after a street of black fashion
Massey’s exhibition is named after the neighborhood of her youth, which is also a vital part of Black Detroit’s historic, cultural and economic center.
The area near the intersection of Seven Mile Road and Livernois Avenue, better known as the Avenue of Fashion because of its many clothing stores, was an epicenter of black commerce until the Detroit Rebellion of 1967 sent shoppers to suburban malls.
A business revival and an increase in government funding are revitalizing the area by removing abandoned buildings and supporting redevelopment. It’s part of a citywide trend of increased investment and population growth over the past decade.
The exhibition poignantly explores the beautiful style of previous generations and how Black Detroiters draw from this tradition when they dress and accessorize today.
Throughout history, in many African diaspora communities, dressing in “Sunday Best” has been a way to assert one’s humanity and dignity. Without a doubt, this exhibition celebrates the importance of this cultural practice.
Monumentalizing the everyday
The exhibition features recent work plus two new sculptures by Massey, commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Art. Her new work is alternated with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection.
At the entrance to the exhibition, silver metal cube shapes are connected and attached to the center of the galleries’ exterior wall in a sculpture called “Whatupdoe” (2024), which is also a beloved greeting among Detroiters. Even larger cube shapes emerge from the wall in both square and rectangular shapes and rest on the floor. The sculpture resembles a statement necklace and takes up much of the gallery space.
The change in scale gives it architectural flair, making it reminiscent of the buildings and homes that line the streets of Detroit, and the many people who live both inside and outside the buildings. The joined links symbolize the ties that connect the various neighborhoods and connect generations of people with the city.
Celebrating the built environment
“I Got Bricks” (2016) consists of serial collections of metal blocks in the shape of gemstones that are incorporated into jewelry. The six clusters of glittering slabs reflect the shapes of bricks used to build architectural structures of the early to mid-20th century, but are presented in geometric and varied arrangements.
The work once again speaks to the idea of seeing yourself in the built environment. “I Got Bricks” suggests that neighborhoods once viewed with disdain can be seen as places of beauty that reflect the history of many African American families who overcame great adversity and lived extraordinary lives.
“Quilt Code 6 (All Black Everything)” (2023) is a beautiful black-painted wooden installation that incorporates iconography and design motifs from the city, as well as the artist’s archive. An Afro comb, the Cadillac logo, a pair of hot combs, the Black Panther Party logo, an Adinkra symbol and design motifs on building facades are some of the images featured in this work.
It is located near mid-century sculptor Louise Nevelson’s “Homage to the World” (1966), which is also painted black, but with trash from the streets of New York City. This juxtaposition highlights how both works use similar compositions to convey two different worldviews, one of an African American woman born in the late 20th century and the other of a European American woman born in the late 19th century.
“I’ve Got Bundles and I Got Flewed Out (Green)” (2023) is a similar installation featuring a series of green and yellow hair pieces with different textures and styles, displayed on a black-toned background. I think of the theme of artifice as an integral part of black women’s beauty rituals.
The objects from “I Remember Way Back When” (2023) and “Baby Bling” (2023) are easily recognizable to many Black women and other women of color, especially those who were children in the 1970s and 1980s.
The former shows hair clips, while the latter has hair ties with balls at each end. The eleven enlarged objects in both works are painted in beautiful red and arranged horizontally, literally creating a big picture of how black girls present themselves to the world.
These nostalgic works are juxtaposed with minimalist artist Donald Judd’s vertically rendered ‘Stack’ (1969), which uses a series of green rectangular shapes to evoke modernist architecture.
Making art in the Motor City
Metalsmithing is closely associated with Detroit’s rise as an industrial mecca in the early 20th century. During that period, the city gained a workforce of African Americans fleeing the South, as well as immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, and even Latin America and the Caribbean.
In ‘Fulani’ (2021), ’39 Reasons I am not Playing’ (2018) and ‘Everyday Arsenal’ (2018), Massey skillfully reveals how the everyday objects of self-adornment celebrated in the show share a history with the art of metalsmithing of the automotive industry in the Motor City.
The galleries filled with Massey’s work invite viewers to pay closer attention to everyday objects and the built environment that surrounds us.
“7 Mile and Livernois” runs through May 11, 2025 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Admission is free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit organization providing facts and trusted analysis to help you understand our complex world. It was written by: Samantha Noël, Wayne State University
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Samantha Noël has worked/consulted with the DIA in a number of roles, including chairing a panel at a conference and serving on two advisory committees.
