Purged: The Art of Metamorphosis

Literary Nonfiction. Art. PURGED: THE ART OF METAMORPHOSIS chronicles artist Nancy J. Rodwan's multi-year project of taking unwanted items cast off by friends, loved ones, and acquaintances, and transforming them into art. Rodwan reworked everyday goods like clothing, kitchen utensils, obsolete electronics, books, toys, and car parts into paintings, sculptures, fiber art, assemblages, and collages — as well as into provocative meditations on Americans' relationships with their stuff. In addition to before-and-after photos of each donated thing and the artwork it became, this volume — a companion to the Purged exhibition mounted in a Detroit-area gallery in spring 2018 —contains Rodwan’s thoughts on the back stories of the objects given to her and/or descriptions of her process of recreating them. It also features original contributions by writers Maia Asshaq, Terry Blackhawk, Andrea Daniel, and Bill Harris.