Dead Boys 1977: Lost Photos, Lost Youth, Gone Cleveland

The Dead Boys were probably never your thing. That–based on Billboard charts–is a statistical fact, even in Cleveland, and more specifically even in Lakewood, their home town. Most people certainly knew the band’s name and rowdy fame more than their music. Even “Sonic Reducer,” covered by Guns N Roses and Pearl Jam, and now on occasion by twelve year-olds–their one […]

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MAKERS: Steven Mastroianni, Photographer

When I asked Cleveland photographer Steven Mastroianni why he still makes photographs the traditional way, his answer was all about silver.  For Mastroianni, it’s that moment when the image miraculously appears on the paper that counts. Alone in his darkroom, under the amber glow of the safelight, light causes a chemical reaction on the paper that produces a thin layer of silver – seemingly […]

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Dancing on the Edge | Michelle Murphy at 2731 Prospect

    You may have seen Michelle Murphy’s work recently in the NEO Geo exhibition at the Akron Museum of Art, fitting comfortably amongst artists that use geometry and formal elements as a means of expression.  Indeed, Murphy does have definite connections to the famed Op Art school of thought espoused by Julian Stanczak and others at the Cleveland Institute of […]

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Spencer Tunick and the RNC: Slacking in Cleveland?

The Plain Dealer’s editorial board generally doesn’t weigh in on the subject of art, unless the cigarette tax is on the ballot, or unless one of the neighborhoods revitalized by arts activity has some significant moment. And even in those cases, they tend to avoid taking up the art itself, preferring instead the discussion of economic impact. They don’t fancy […]

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