Swoon does Detroit @ Culture Source
Street art has experienced a crossover into fine art in recent decades, transforming its image as a form of criminal vandalism to one of public self-expression, able to access audiences outside the formal setting of museum and gallery. Detroit has, of late, been courting some of the artists who, having made their names on the street, been embraced by these very same institutions. Blockbuster branding artist Shepard Fairey came to visit in May of last year as the invited guest muralist for one of Dan Gilbert’s many downtown buildings—and found himself in some legal hot water for leaving some unsanctioned works around town—an ironic statement on the crucial nature of context if ever there was one.
But it’s a new year, and Detroit has a new visiting artist—Caledonia “Callie” Curry, better known as Swoon, a Brooklyn-based mixed-media artist—who has been mounting her touching and deeply personal portraits all around town in public, private and institutional settings.