Detroit artist Maurice Greenia, Jr., “Maugre” is currently exhibiting at MOCAD as part of their “Considering Detroit” Art Detroit Now exhibition.

Born in Detroit’s cultural center in 1953, Greenia continues to reside in the cultural heart of the city today. In the early 1990s, he put together his first and last name and began signing his name “Maugre,”, which he discovered later quite fittingly to be an archaic word meaning “to withstand in a defiant manner.” He considers himself an outsider artist, “I’m self-taught (sometimes naïve and sometimes knowing) with the wild and original sensibilities of a self-taught artist. This is a feeling that’s more than just about being outside the mainstream of the ‘art community’. I have a strong Surrealist streak and I’m a naturally surreal human creature. That said, I stand with other outsiders (who have been outside or who are still outside now) including native/aboriginal peoples, African-Americans, women, children, those who are called “mad,” all true artists everywhere, jazz and blues players, the victims who struggle against their victimization, the poor, the sad, the angry, the lost.”

An interest in poetry became a passion and spilled onto paper and canvas in the surrealist tradition. His monthly “Poetic Express,” featuring his poetry, drawings, and a comic strip called “surreal theatre” has been appearing since 1985. He’s been exhibiting regularly since then, initially at Willis Gallery and Space Gallery, before moving on to Galerie Jacques in Ann Arbor, run by the late Jacques Karamanoukian, who would help Greenia to show in France.

In 1996 and 97, he did a huge street art project on the abandoned Hudson’s building in downtown Detroit all in bright colored (or white) chalk. “Due to wind and rain damage, I’d have to go back days later and go over pieces in chalk again to restore them. I walked and took the bus there carrying a ladder so I could work higher on the building. This all started in response to artists having their murals on the building rudely painted over. It ended up with interaction between the homeless people living in the building, the people who wanted to save it and the people who wanted to tear it down. My work was imploded/exploded with the building when it was demolished in October, 1998.”

Greenia also helps to run Zeitgeist Gallery, and his freeform puppet shows and “Space Band,” both make regular appearances there. For more on Greenia, see his website here.

thedetroiter.com’s arts editor Nick Sousanis conducted this interview of thedetroiter.com’s famous four questions via the Internet from his undisclosed location. See a past review of Greenia here and here.

Why Art, specifically Why Surrealistic Art?

I make art because I can and maybe because I have to. I make Art to create a better reality than the one we live in. It’s an attempt to breathe a more Utopian air. I believe that worldwide, in the USA and too locally, art is not being allowed or encouraged to be what it should be. If Art was to play its full and proper role in this world, it would be one more force for improvement. True Art is usually toward love, life and dream flowerings. It is usually against cruelty, violence and exploitation. It’s in favor of a more complex and full picture of what it means to be a human being alive in this world today.

Why Detroit?

I’ve grown accustomed to this beautiful, sometimes cruel and difficult city. It’s my hometown and I’ve lived here most of my life. I’ve got roots, family and friends here. I appreciate the good things about the city, the possibilities unique to our situations.

What is the future of (surrealistic) art (in Detroit)?

I’d like to see Detroit finally blossom into a strong RENAISSANCE of creativity. If it really takes off, the rest of the world would look toward us in surprise! I’m talking about visual arts, writing, poetry, theatre, film, dance and everything else.

What is the future of Detroit?

I look into my crystal ball but the future is hard to see. We need to go beyond just automobiles and casinos. I’m hoping for renewal resources, green business, more gardens in the vacant lots and more trees, better mass transit and yes more art. I’m hoping that the roadblocks and monkey wrenches thrown in Detroit’s path can stop or at least slow down.

Considering Detroit opens May 10. See thedetroiter.com’s arts calendar for more details and other Art Detroit Now events here.

Photo of Greenia, courtesy JIM PALLAS.