12 GROUNDCOVER NEWS ARTS + CULTURE The Leni Sinclair space-time continuum One of the problems with writing an article about famed photographer Leni Sinclair is: WHERE TO BEGIN? Should I start the narrative in 1945 when Leni’s mother and four little kids fled war-ravaged Germany and evacuated by boat? Or should the story begin now, today at The Detroit Historical Museum where Leni Sinclair is being honored with a year-long exhibition titled “LENI: Looking Through The Lens?” No matter how you examine it, Leni Sinclair’s body of work is staggeringly accomplished with over 65,000 published photographs in hundreds of books, magazines and newspapers. Leni’s personal history is so vast it could easily fill all 16 pages of Groundcover News. First impression I met Leni in August 2004 at Detroit’s Eastern Market. I was playing an accordion when she dropped a few bucks into my tip basket then proceeded to relay a story about a keyboardist who got discovered while busking Detroit’s Farmers market, “A traveling band picked him up and took him on tour with them. They even recorded several albums together.” Rewind ... I first saw Leni’s photographs in 1976 when I was in ninth grade. My older brother gave me a copy of the Ann Arbor Sun newspaper and I read it cover to cover not realizing Leni’s photography adorned its pages. Going online it is easy to access much information regarding Leni Sinclair’s career however, I’m interested in the stories unavailable on social media. TS: Do you remember the first picture you ever took? LS: Yes, in 1958. TS: Do you still have it? LS: Yes, it was taken from the roof of the Cathedral in Cologne. TS: Your family fled East Germany while the Russians were aggressively exacting revenge by land and sea. You arrived in Detroit 1959. How would you summarize those 13 years (age 5-18)? LS: Our family moved to the Baltic region then Poland. Basically moved around for six months while the war was ending. We resettled in Valdorf. I went to school and worked at the collective farm. At about eight I entered a contest of who could pick the most potato bugs which were destroying the crops. I won a radio and that’s how we were able to hear Radio Free Europe and American Jazz. When Joseph Stalin died I was around 13 and our school held an assembly. TOMMY SPAGHETTI Groundcover vendor No. 669 SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 At a solemn moment, one boy made a remark, “Let us all lower our heads for five minute thinking of Stalin.” Everyone cracked up laughing because it was a religious sentiment while Stalin was famously an atheist. The authorities were furious and refused to let anyone leave until we outed the perpetrator. Well, no one would snitch on him and eventually they had to let us go in the evening before the last train. Also I was denied a high school graduation certificate because I refused to disavow my faith. TS: Which faith? LS: Baptist. They wanted me to sign a piece of paper denouncing it and I refused. Fast forward … TS: The current exhibition at the Detroit Historical Museum showcases 48, 20”x16” photographs. How did you arrive at those 48 out of 65,000? LS: The curators were interested in the photos depicting early 1960’s Jazz musicians in Detroit. Also the underground Rock and Roll music scene from the mid 1960’s. TS: Do you have a favorite photograph? LS: John Coltrane Drome Lounge 1966 TS: That’s your picture! LS: Yes, Celia, my daughter was reading the New York Times and she saw this advertisement. I contacted the manager and they asked me what I wanted for use of the picture and I said ‘a trip to Lagos’ and that’s how I got to be in Lagos, Nigeria as a guest of Fela’s family. TS: Let’s rewind … Back in the 1960s when you were taking pictures did you ever imagine they would someday be lauded as historical document? LS: No, we were busy rushing to meet publication deadlines in the 5th Estate and Ann Arbor Sun newspapers. When I first approached Leni about TS: Why is it your favorite photograph? LS: He’s my favorite Artist. TS: Which photograph is at the doing a benefit for her (November 2025) she declined, stating, “We should do a benefit for JC Crawford, he lost his home and everything in the Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria? LS: Fela Anikulapu Kuti, Fox Theater, 1986. [pictured above] TS: How did they find you? LS: That’s kind of a long story... It has to do with the movie “Finding Fela” by Alex Gibney. Jamaican Hurricane in October." JC Crawford was the spiritual advisor to The MC5 (led by Leni's husband John Sinclair) and like a true 1960s idealist Leni Sinclair is more concerned about others. December 14, 2025 Leni slipped on her ice-covered driveway and fell breaking her tibia, the bone just below her right knee. June 14, 2026 Leni suffered a stroke exactly six months after — just when she was recovering from the broken tibia. Recently when her car took a big shit and died Leni acquiesced. “We could use some help.” Beni-for-Leni Organizing a benefit for Leni Sinclair wasn’t difficult. Jeff Grand was the first musician I called and he contacted Adam Brook & Tino Gross. With Brennan Andes on bass guitar it will be the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH! Monday, November 2, 7-10 p.m. at The Shop, 23305 Dequindre Rd, Hazel Park. Maddy Ringo and Kira Blue performing together will be exquisite. Richie & The Plainsmen from Low and Behold Records plus Jesse Macintosh and The Terraplane Review from Grand Rapids. Beni-for-Leni will attempt to raise awareness and financial support for this truly inspirational eminent artist in our midst.
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