Our alumnx do great things. While their time at the Hill House may have passed, we like to keep abreast of their work. Exhibitions, albums, publications—our alumnx are firing it up this year.
Hill House alumnx and Detroit-based artist, Scott Hocking, was featured on Michigan Radio’s Stateside this month. He discussed the new exhibition of his work entitled Old, on view at David Klein Gallery in Detroit until June 23. Scott states his use of found materials for his various installations is an expression of our relation to past, present and future as a society. “...if I’m creating a sculpture that has these kind of archetypal images, shapes inside vacant structures, for example, things people might see as ‘ruins.’ Then I’m interested in how people see a ruin within a ruin. Why one ruin might be considered a monument while another might be considered negative.” Listen to the interview in its entirety here.
Award winning performing and recording artist, and non-fiction writer, Christa Couture, did a photoshoot at the end of her pregnancy last fall. Christa, who lost her leg in 25 years ago, wanted to bring awareness to the lack of pregnancy photos of those living with a disability. “It took me a long time to believe I could be a disabled parent in part because I found so few examples of other people doing it,” Couture said. “Disabled people are constantly told they can’t do things — either directly or indirectly in the narratives in movies, sitcoms, advertising etc. This is my one tiny way of combating that.” See the full article by Elizabeth Cassidy of the The Mighty here.
Nicole Garneau’s latest work from the UPRISING project, Performing Revolutionary: Art, Action, Activism, was published by Intellect Books. Nicole, a Chicago-based performance artist and writer, wrote this part how-to guide and part memoir to bring awareness to the role of art in activism. The result of five years of experiential research into political public events, Performing Revolutionary, relays the story of Nicole’s participation in a myriad of events throughout America and Europe to initiate change with radically inspired art-based events. Get a copy of the book here.
Wildmaker released their latest CD this month, Zion. Brooklyn based musicians, Gabriel Birnbaum, Adam Brisbin, Nick Jost, Sean Mullins and Katie Von Schleicher, collaborated to bring us what they refer to as the first chapter in a musical novel. The album chronicles their years trudging through New York City trying to make that coveted break. From the clouds to the quagmire of a burgeoning New York artist’s life, the music takes listeners through the emotions and places of this journey. Hear a track and get the disc here.