Exhibit: A Feral Housewife

Leelanau County artist Mary Beth Acosta’s collages occupy the GAAC’s Lobby Gallery January 6 – April 21, 2023. Working under the creative nom de guerre “The Feral Housewife,” Acosta uses simple, familiar tools and a range of recycled, vintage papers to create collages about mid-century housewives, big-finned cars, and “labor-saving” appliances — once promoted as drudgery-busting machines that would revolutionize the modern home. Acosta’s collages offer a smart, funny look back at a time when advertising defined family, and home life, and the people who lived it.

Acosta studied ceramics and metalsmithing while pursuing a degree in Environmental Science from William James College in 1977. She lives in Northport and Traverse City. Read more about Mary Beth Acosta here: http://www.feralhousewife.com/

GO DEEPER: In January 2022, Mary Beth Acosta spoke with GAAC Gallery Manager Sarah Bearup-Neal about her work, how she makes it, and the underlying themes that drive it for the GAAC’s Creativity Q+A series. This video interview was originally offered in conjunction with the GAAC’s PAPERWORK exhibition [January 14 – March 24, 2022].
Watch It Here

IMAGE: Heading Out, collage [vintage ephemera], 11” w x 16” h, 2010, Mary Beth Acosta