Mary, please introduce yourself to our readers. 

A lifelong Chicagoan, Mary Ellen Croteau received a BFA from University of Illinois at Chicago in 1990 and an MFA from Rutgers University in 1998.  She has lectured and exhibited internationally, and her art has won numerous awards and has been reproduced and reviewed extensively.  Most recently, her large self-portrait made of plastic bottle caps has gone viral.

Since 2003, Croteau has run a window gallery in Chicago called Art On Armitage,  bringing fine art into the Chicago streetscape where passers-by can see work by contemporary artists of many disciplines, from many countries.  View it at:  www.artonarmitage.com


What inspired you to get into art as a form of expressing yourself? Were you inclined towards art from the beginning or was it a learnt trade?

I have always wanted to be an artist; I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it as my single goal in life.  My parents were not supportive, so I had to find my own way, and went to art school when my youngest child was in school.  I got my BFA when I was 40, and my MFA when I was 48.  Before I went back to school, I was a political activist, working on electoral politics, anti-war, anti-nuclear and feminist causes.  At art school I started making political art as a way to illustrate feminist critique, since my classmates seemed to be poorly informed on the subject.  It seemed very normal to merge my art with my activism.


Your art ranges from paintings, photography, plastic bottle caps to even stuff like discarded plastic bags? What motivates you to use these varied mediums and why?

My art is cultural critique.  The critique determines the presentation and the medium.  For instance, I recently collaborated with a friend in Korea on a photo project.  She took photos of plastic in her environment, and I did the same in the US.  Then we paired our photos up. The group of 20 pairs was displayed in the UK under the title “Plastic World”.  The assemblages I am doing now are also concerned with plastic waste.

I started working with plastic bags because they just kept piling up in my kitchen, and I knew they were not really recycled (In 2003, it cost $4000 to process a ton of bags into pellets which could then be sold on the open market for only $34).  Plastic bottle caps are another item which doesn’t really get recycled, so I decided to make art with them, as a way of illustrating the problem and keeping them out of the waste dumps.

A series of paintings I did in the ‘90s was based on Renaissance subject matter.  Though they looked just like old master paintings, I changed the subjects to reflect a feminist authorship:  What if women wrote history? What might it look like?  The paintings were displayed in a room made to resemble a museum, which drew you in and then shocked and entertained with the cheeky take.  For example, my “St. Lorena”  was a classical depiction of a saint, but the image was a self-portrait as Lorena Bobbit, holding a severed penis in my hand and looking challengingly up to heaven.  This was in response to all the paintings of female saints who hold their own mutilated body parts in their hands (like St. Agatha And St. Lucy.)




























How do you think that your art has touched the life of the people around you? What has been the most satisfying compliment that you have received so far?

I know that people respond favorably to my work, because they tell me so.  I work hard to make sure the critique makes sense, and makes the issues clear for the viewer.  I think the most gratifying thing so far is that my work has gone viral on the internet.  It has taken me completely by surprise.  Every week I receive another request to use my work in a magazine or presentation, or someone wants to be friends on Facebook from far-flung places like Italy, Thailand, Iceland, and South Africa.  That they all appreciate my work is humbling and very gratifying.



You are both a feminist & a political artist, how do you manage both?

I think feminism IS political.  And I don’t think that environmentalism is much different from feminism.  I think that we, as a culture, treat the earth like we treat women: something to be used up and exploited.  And I think that raising consciousness of these issues is the most important thing I can do as an artist, but I make sure I have fun doing it.


What other artists do you look up to and why? What are the sources of inspiration for you?

I draw inspiration from all sorts of artists.  In my art, I have referenced artists from Carravaggio to Manet, Ana Mendieta to Constantin Brancusi.  I love art, and draw inspiration from the work of others.  I hope that my work adds to the dialogue that I believe is at the center of art practice.  That said though, I do have a particular affection for the Guerrilla Girls.

































































Surely some of your artwork would have raised a few eyebrows? How do you handle such situations?

I am not afraid to raise some hackles.  When someone reacts negatively to my art, it lets me know that I have made them think.  I love to engage in discussions about the subject.  But the truth is, most people really like my criticism, and really get what I am doing.  They are happy to see that someone is raising issues and challenging the status quo and making them think.


Apart from working on art what other activities do you enjoy? What do you find to be the most relaxing? 

I listen to music of all kinds, for hours every day.  My husband and I have thousands of vinyl record, tapes and CDs we have collected since the ‘60s.  I also enjoy communing with nature, camping and hiking or just sitting on my porch swing looking at the flowers.


What are your future plans as an artist? Are you working on any new socially focused projects?

I run my window gallery, and it is nice to have a new artist show every month and to talk with my neighbors about the artwork.  It is an evolving project I have been doing since 2003.  I have taken some of these artists to the Stockholm Supermarket Art Fair and will do so again next February.  It is an amazing experience, an art fair by artists for artist-run spaces and artist initiatives from 40 different countries.  Mine was the only gallery from the US.  I have met extremely creative people from all over the world there, and the networking opportunities are unparalleled.

As for my own work, I hope to start my next bottle cap piece soon.  It will be a Monet-like view of a water lily pond at the local conservatory, and will be about 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall.  I am still collecting caps for that.


As an artist you have been awarded so many laurels over your distinguishing career. What advice would you like to give to budding artists?

Follow your instincts and follow your heart.  There is no one who knows better than you what you should be doing.  It would be great if we could support ourselves by making art, but that should not be your motivation; find a way to make art anyway.  Make work that talks to people.  Engage your audience.


Thank you taking the time for this interview, your artwork is truly inspiring. We wish you the very best for the future.


You can read more about Mary Ellen at:

Website