It's my last contenders post of 2008! I can hardly stand it. It feels like Christmas! Tomorrow we'll have 5 *brand*new* Hot Shots. The only thing that could make the evening more magical would be some of those fluffy white snowflakes that graced NYC so briefly on Saturday. But instead, it's just really, really cold so, to sustain the suspense, let me present the work of James Griffioen. Or rather, let me let him present the work:

I live in a shrinking, once-great city and I document the indifference of nature as it reclaims the urban landscape block by block, building by building. I am interested in the duplicity of this urban flora as somehow both innocent and strangely sinister. Detroit has long suffered from a natural disaster worse than that wrought by a hurricane or an earthquake. Cries for help from Detroit don't bring FEMA, the press, or Robert Polidori. Our natural disaster is one of simple indifference to the suffering caused by racism, post-industrial decline, crime, and implacable poverty...

Even though he's making work that is very close to home, Griffioen lives in Detroit, it first reminded me of the work of a photographer who habitually travels from Manitoba to Chernobyl, David McMillan. I feel like both photographers are out to prove that this planet will be a better place without us, or at least, that it will survive even if/when we perish.

These two also share an intense respect for a sense of place, in this regard, Griffioen's work reminds me of Philadelphian Zoe Strauss. And truth be told, Detroit and Philly are two cities that could see a little more attention, and not just in times like now, when bad gets even worse. Griffioen and his wife maintain a blog that shows their love for their fine city, Sweet Juniper! Check it out and see why they are "just two more people raising their kids in the most dangerous city in America." It'll give you some good reading material while you're waiting for the big announcement....