Girard, Art & Detroit: Snapshots of the Big Picture

  Master of Mud (aka artist) and former Center for Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit,  professor of art, Bill (William J.) Girard Jr., passed away in 2011. The website created to honor him is found at  https://girardsvasari.com/ ------------------------------------------------------- Bummer, man. Just a real bummer. At the beginning of 1981, California conservative and former actor, Ronald Reagan, had assumed the presidency of the country. Around mid-year, the dread disease that would come to be known as AIDS was first identified in the US. And just before Christmas, our hero, artist and professor of art, Bill Girard, was forced to remove two of his paintings from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) Power Center exhibit in which he was one of the three featured artists.  One of the two paintings was MARS. The other was JUDY IN THE STARS. Article : WOE TO ‘MARS’ AND ‘JUDY IN THE STARS’  Hand dated: 12-13-1981 By Jeff  Mortimer News Staff Reporter Ann Arbor ...

Master of Mud (aka artist) and former Center for Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit,  professor of art, Bill (William J.) Girard Jr., passed away in 2011. The website created to honor him is found at  https://girardsvasari.com/ ------------------------------------------------------- Previously unreported Girard painting hits art market - and sells! RIMA, signed and dated Girard 1995, recently turned up in an online search courtesy of 1stDibs.com . Her past is a mystery. (RIMA doesn't seem to have been part of the Allen Abramson estate collection.) But her current status looks good as a happy Girard collector has reported reeling her in!   According to the the website: In "Rima" Girard has captured a beautiful red-headed female in a dreamy pose of closed-eyed contemplation. The figure appears to be completely self-absorbed without being closed-off to interior monologue and the decorative element about her head suggests the intensity of those thoughts. The green vine that drap...

Master of Mud (aka artist) and former Center for Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit,  professor of art, Bill (William J.) Girard Jr., passed away in 2011. The website created to honor him is found at  https://girardsvasari.com/ ------------------------------------------------------- Every artist has a story. This is a little bit of Bill Girard's ( Podcast Part 1 ).  A homosexual when homo was a dirty word. A sin! Oh, and criminal.  A marvelous representational artist when making art with "people in it" was, like, so out-of-touch with the universe. Right? ( Podcast Part 2 ) An expert in his craft - self-taught, thank you very much - when few cared to learn traditional techniques. Loved by his students and a few, obviously out-of-touch Detroit-area collectors; ignored by tastemakers. Meet the (invisible) Motor City Master (of  Mud), Bill Girard. Thanks to River West Radio for the podcast opportunity!     Other Posts   GIRARD? GIRARD WHO? BILL GIRARD: T...

Master of Mud (aka artist) and former Center for Creative Studies (CCS), Detroit,  professor of art, Bill (William J.) Girard Jr., passed away in 2011. The website created to honor him is found at  https://girardsvasari.com/ ------------------------------------------------------- Introduction: Fairyland is sponsoring an exhibit of three Bill Girard paintings, based on  Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream . Mortal tourists are about to get the guided tour ... and perhaps learn more than they intended. But it's not too late! You can still join them. (Crash the gate!)                                                            ______________ Fairies on the Egg . 1973.  Artist: Bill Girard. Royal Oak, MI. 1940-2011. Robin : Welcome, friends, to Fairyland! My name is Robin. I’m leading your Fascination...