Dil F.
Yelp
My review is strictly devoted to a synopsis of CCS' Manoogian Visual Resource Center.
I attended a poetry reading by Anna Vitale, Lynn Crawford, and Anselm Berrigan tonight that was hosted by CCS' Manoogian Visual Resource Center. The space is awesome. Upon entering, you're treated to an all-sorts smorgasbord of visual graphics, design, art, and product creation. I'm not sure it's an art gallery so much as a giant display room of the many directions CCS students have oriented themselves, from the purely aesthetic to the purely economic. Whatever their direction, the art/ design/ commodity display in the main foyer is very impressive and excellently arranged. Bright, roomy, colorful, and begging you to explore, gawk, stare, and meander.
The side room that hosted the poetry reading was spatially ideal. Wedged into a corner, the readers were bannered by bright visual art, paintings and collage, which gives a vocal performance of poetry a nice visual counterpoint. The corner-tuck also allows for chairs to be arranged in a radiating pattern in relation to the lectern, so you can cram quite a few people into the gallery space.
The ONLY let down was the sound set-up. The acoustics of this space are kinda poor. The ceilings are VERY high, and the readers are competing with a very loud ventilation/ temperature control system that creates a background interference level noticeable ABOVE "white noise". Their in-house lectern is also a little low, which means the mic is a little low, which means the amplifiers are pumping out a lot of dead "hiss"... staff should re-work the sound set-up to achieve live performance-worthy audio.
The night was catered with delicious wines at donation cost. And there's free parking for about 25 cars out front, plus street parking (just across from the DIA/ Detroit Film Institute, on John R - one street east parallel to Woodward). All in all, a really great space to book a public arts event. Super job CCS.