Maurice Greenia, Jr. ’76 (a.k.a. Maugré), a longtime McNichols Campus Library assistant, poet, Detroit-based multi-media artist and avid filmgoer delved into his personal collection of Detroit Film Theatre (DFT) memorabilia in order to celebrate the DFT’s 50th anniversary. The result is Detroit and the Movies, this summer’s exhibit at the McNichols Campus Library, which runs through early September.
The multi-faceted exhibit focuses on the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts, as well as work from local artists. Among the artifacts on display – from an era long before e-tickets – are an oversized DFT “membership card,” photographs, postcards and programming guides dating back to 1974. Think outside the mainstream: foreign films, classic and restored films, silent films, independent films, animation.
In addition to theatre-specific memorabilia, a small art exhibition features the work of Jennifer Gariepy, Gazine Greenia, Mary Fortuna, Jim Puntigam, Jack Johnson, Miriam Marcus, Roger Hayes and other local artists.
Both exhibits are part of Greenia’s ongoing annual summer exhibition series on the cultural history of Detroit, a series he started in 2014 that has over the years highlighted the city’s visual arts scene, poetry, street art and music.
Stop by the Library to meet Maugré and see this unique display before it ends as he likes to remove and add pieces to the exhibit every few weeks, pulling from his own vast collections. In other words, what you saw last week may not be there the next!
For more information on what’s showing next at the Detroit Film Theatre, visit the theatre’s website.
You can also check out the Archive Research Center’s online Maurice Greenia, Jr. Collections to learn more about his unique artistic interpretation of Detroit.