RocknW Art Studio
About RocknW Art Studio
Sharon Wysocki was born in Detroit, MI. It wasn’t until a move to Flint ignited her artistic vision. She was one of the artists in the Buckham Fine Arts movement which included filmmaker, Michael Moore. These artists were similar to the artists on the cutting edge in Detroit’s Cass Corridor art movement.
Wysocki became known for work collage and mixed media pieces. Her art pieces were made from discarded covers of books, pages from coloring books, vintage literature illustrations, carnival chalk ware, bullets and other found objections. She had exhibited her work in numerous galleries in Flint, Detroit and Ann Arbor including Cranbrook Museum of Art and the Kresge Art Museum.
Wysocki is most famously known for her 1996 touring exhibition, Banned Books as Art. The art pieces in this exhibition were made of oils, found objects, discarded covers literature books that have been banned.
Wysocki’s Banned Books as Art exhibition was ironically banned in Independence, MO. This incident lead to media coverage in USA Today, MTV News and a spoof on Saturday Night Live.
Wysocki now resides in Tucson, AZ.
https://rocknwartstudio.wordpress.com
No Child's Play
Saint Dale
Why Me
Open Studio Tour
About the Process
I have always been fascinated by the revealing historical content of consumer items that are that are vastly considered as no longer a treasured object. The vintage tin Old West toys I utilize in my art pieces are usually well worn from hours of a former child’s play only now to be purchased for pennies to a few dollars in today’s market. Same goes for most of the plastic “cowboy and indian” action figures. These play things were the basis of usually racist childhoods influenced by the early western films and TV shows.
I was exposed to these racist story media lines along with living with the reality of the 1967 race riots in Detroit. I was exposed to the Old West toys that exposed me to racism of a different sort through childlike play. I try to make cathartic sense of racism through my art pieces made of the Old West toys and other found objects.
The other day I stopped in a convenience store to buy a snack in a rural part of Cochise County. There was a small display of new toys for sale. There in the display was a package of plastic Cowboy and Indian action figures. In 2020, apparently children are still playfully exploring historical racist dynamics.
How to Purchase
Studio visits to view art are to be scheduled.
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