Dereck Mangus rounds up several Baltimore murals that honor local heroes and adorn the walls of neighborhoods far and wide.
Read MoreDereck Mangus tells us about six towers in Baltimore that were built by various people for various reasons, most of them not utilitarian reasons. Dereck calls them “humbler, more endearing towers, popping up throughout Charm City like exotic little mushrooms.”
Read MoreOur contributor Dereck Stafford Mangus’s day job is museum guard at the Baltimore Museum of Art, but Dereck also works as a member of the museum’s conservation crew dusting the sculptures in the sculpture garden. Recently, the dusting tasks came up against the demolition of a building next door to the museum, on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, triggering Dereck’s thoughts about demolitions in general and the labor of artists and conservators. Enjoy this behind the scenes look at a different kind of museum work. All photomontages by Dereck Stafford Mangus.
Read MoreDereck Stafford Mangus reflects on moving from Boston to Baltimore, and into a building clad in Formstone. Dereck compares Formstone’s shaped-stucco facades to art forgeries, calling them “urban kitsch.” But he’s learned to appreciate them as part of what makes Baltimore …Baltimore!
Read MoreAfter getting his second Covid-19 vaccine, Dereck Stafford Mangus takes a reflective walk around Baltimore and photographs the fire-damaged Domino Sugar Refinery. Despite ongoing local and global crises, Dereck is hopeful for the future.
Read MoreDereck Stafford Mangus reviews “The Art of Looking at Art,” a guide book by Gene Wisniewski. Dereck says skillfully unpacks otherwise cryptic art history and art theory materials, and that the book is a valuable asset for ‘art novices’ and art historians alike.
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