Ice House Detroit

Into the lunar landscape of the Detroit housing market now comes Ice House Detroit, an art/architectural installation-in-the-making that sets out to freeze an abandoned house in a big chunk of ice.

Here's what the freeze might look like on a rather low-tech shoebox cutout.

Now imagine it bigger, grander.

Unfortunately, the tediously good-hearted plan is to raise $11,000 to demolish the house come spring and to then turn the plot over to a community garden.

To which I say -- and here I speak as someone who has been charged with trafficking in "poverty porn" myself -- bullshit.

The only reason that anyone wants to see this succeed is for the sheer apocalyptic frisson. It would be one part scary to nine parts reassuring. Like a disaster movie. The point is to shock the viewer into a tighter embrace of the what they already know or think they know: family is important, the world is a frightening place, Shelly Winters looks oddly graceful underwater...

Wait, where am I going here?

Right: some may say fire and some may say ice. But I say this is America, and why should we have to choose?

So, I say, ice house auteurs: Freeze it first and then let it burn baby burn when summer rolls around. At least that would be honest.