HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — “As a child, I had a devout interest in my grandfather’s handmade fly traps that adorned his backyard garden, dangling from tree branches and fence posts,” reads the statement accompanying Ryan Standfest’s solo exhibition of prints at Hatch Art, Random Negotiations Toward an Unreasonable Happiness. I was […]
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — Outsider artists walk a fine line between being perceived as inspired or insane. There are those who identify as artists and acknowledge their participation in a wider conversation; but, for the most part, outsider artists seem to run on instinct, conveying a seemingly limitless sense of self-expression that reflects […]
One of the most challenging aspects of grappling with mental illness is not just the negotiation of an emotionally fraught psychic territory, but the social pressure to conceal whatever struggles may be happening internally. For women, especially young women, this struggle is a subset of the prevailing demand to present […]
HAMTRAMCK Mich. — Many women will happily tell you — if only you looked them in the eye instead of the chest — there is something deeply alienating about being reduced to one’s body parts. It’s an experience that is becoming increasingly relatable across gender lines; as women and gay men […]
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — “I want to know what love is,” artist Scott Northrup confides in me via email, and his reference to the Foreigner song of same name is neither ironic nor unintentional. Underscoring the whole of his solo show I WAS RIGHT HERE THE WHOLE TIME, at Hatch Art […]