Detroit's Cass Corridor & Beyond is part memoir and part art book by veteran journalist Suzy Farbman. For many years, she covered design for national and Detroit publications and ultimately created her own home as an homage to the best of familial antiques and contemporary art. In color photos and vivid anecdotes, Suzy tells the story of her support of Detroit's first avant-garde art movement, the first generation of Cass Corridor artists.
Starting in the late 1960s, a scrappy band of creatives began working in the Cass Corridor area of Wayne State University in Detroit, many using assemblages of whatever materials could be found or scrounged. Jackie Feigenson, a sculptor turned gallerist, considered their work exciting, original and worthy of serious representation. Jackie gave up her art practice to open the Feigenson Gallery in midtown Detroit's iconic Fisher Building, one of the landmarks designed by Suzy's great uncle Albert Kahn. Farbman visited the Feigenson Gallery, viewed its opening show of Michael Luchs' rabbits, and was hooked. She purchased a rabbit of wood, rags, wire, and paint as her first foray into collecting contemporary art. This was Jackie Feigenson's first sale in her new gallery.
The book includes photographs of Suzy's homes in Franklin, Michigan, and Sarasota, Florida, and informal snapshots of friends in and out of the art world. Featuring stylish images by renowned photographer Beth Singer, this book is written with wit, wisdom, and personal perspective.
In welcoming readers to her book, Suzy writes: "By opening our doors and telling our story in these pages through vivid images and anecdotes, I am sending a personal love letter to each reader. As you turn these pages, I invite you to celebrate with me the love of family, the joys of collecting, the resilience of one of the world's great cities, and the brilliant diversity of Detroit's artists."
She continues: "Over many years as a journalist covering design, I saw a wide range of living spaces. When I summoned all that I had learned from others, I was convinced that a beautiful home could be designed to include our shared family history, fond memories that continue to unfold in our lives, as well as bright artistic visions. If you agree that beloved objects make a place a home, you will enjoy the adventures that bring this book to life."
Author Biography:
For many years, Suzy Farbman was a nationally known journalist, serving as a design and fashion editor with Detroit Monthly and The Detroit News Sunday Magazine. She also reported for Women's Wear Daily and was a columnist and feature writer with The Detroit News. Suzy spent five years as a regional design editor for Better Homes and Gardens and other Meredith publications. She has published two memoirs about surviving personal crises. Oprah Winfrey featured Suzy and her family on her talk show after the debut of Suzy's best-selling book about the challenges of marriage, Back from Betrayal. Her second book was about overcoming devastating Stage IV ovarian cancer. That memoir, Godsigns, has inspired and helped thousands of readers through their own health crises. Suzy is currently a columnist with Read the Spirit online magazine and writes frequent profiles of other peoples' inspiring stories of survival. Her home in Franklin, Michigan, was featured in Traditional Home magazine.
