4,000 miles of Detroit art: A man with a camera, a bicycle and a goal

Robert Allen | Detroit Free Press

He once flew over his handlebars to avoid a car and, at other times, wiped out on ice and on an oil slick. Eight times, he has outrun dogs.

And after bicycling 2,200 miles of Detroit streets the past 16 months, Thomas Leeper is about halfway to his goal. But the 51-year-old from Berkley says he's "not really a bicyclist."

He's doing it for a passion project, Every Linear Mile, taking photos of all the street art he sees on his rides. He admires the artists and hopes that blog posts bring attention to the graffiti, murals and found-object-art that he sees on walls, fences, cars, trees, homes and so many other places.

"It's everywhere. It's so visible," Leeper said. "Ninety-nine percent of it was created with no financial incentive in mind. ... They're helping beautify the city without money, and so I'm trying to give them kudos for what they've done and what they've created."

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The single father of a 17-year-old, in his day job, is the executive director for a recruiting company out of Boston. But at sunrise on Saturdays and Sundays, year-round, Leeper drives his vehicle to a Detroit police station, fire department or church to safely park, then he takes off on his bicycle, combing the neighborhoods and city streets. And stopping for photos.

"I will go in buildings that are open, if all the doors and windows are knocked out," he said, adding that abandoned buildings that are more open tend to have more art pieces. "I know a lot of artists who kind of break into buildings that are kind of boarded up. I will not do that."

He has had 11 flat tires, stepped on seven nails and had nine verbal offers of drugs, among statistics tracked on his website, everylinearmile.com.

Of the eight dogs that chased him, "three were a pretty scary experience," Leeper said.

"I've learned how to ride fast when I need to," he said. And he keeps pepper spray in his pocket, just in case. But his website points out that he has never really felt unsafe.

The project started on Feb. 20, 2017, and if all goes well, he could be through all the estimated 4,000 miles of routes through city streets by this winter. He rides about 20-40 miles per session.

Leeper's photography subjects are street art with a few caveats — no "basic lettering/writing, tagging or gang symbols," generally no business advertisements, and it has to be something "one-of-a-kind as far as I know or can tell," according to the "What is Art?" section of his website.

Hundreds of images by a wide variety of artists are featured on the site and his social media. And "The Artists" section on his website credits a large number of them by name, with links to their work, such as Paolo Pedini, Taylor White and Freddy Diaz.

"They really are the stars of this project," Leeper said. "It's surprising how much art is out there, and how much of it is done in hidden places. ... Some of the hidden art is kind of magical."

From faces and hearts on large buildings' inner pillars to a hat on a curbside fire hydrant, to a robot, haloed in pink, flashing a peace sign from a cinder block wall, his images show a vast cityscape of possibility.

Leeper's goal is about 4,000 miles. And along the way, he has seen some stuff that he wasn't necessarily expecting.

"There's abandoned boats all over the place, which I just find comical," he said, adding that he has seen houses totally covered with ivy, or trees growing in houses. "I've thought of doing a series called, 'Mother Nature Taking Over.'"

Once Every Linear Mile is complete, he's not sure what he'll do. But he likes the idea of supporting art in Detroit.

"We all need a day job, we all need to make money," he said. But if you "have a passion project, and you work on it," you can help the community.

Contact Robert Allen: rallen@freepress.com or @rallenMI on Twitter.