Strange Beauty

An illustrated retrospective on the life and work of the colorful Detroit artist.

Barbara Greene Mann was a force—gritty, loud, messy, and unapologetic. Her life was a maelstrom of creation, destruction, survival, and reinvention. She was witness to and an architect of Detroit's Cass Corridor art scene during the '70s and '80s, and her work captured the chaos and vibrancy of the city through a multitude of hand-colored prints, watercolor paintings, and lithographs. Barbara didn't just exist in the scene; she was the scene.
With a personality as unfettered as her art, Barbara was described as an "outrageous pixie"—electric and always up to something. Whether sketching in the dark at a jazz show or battling for an elephant named Lucy, Barbara threw herself into everything she did, using her art as a weapon to fight for the underdog. This collection of her art along with essays by those who knew her offers a way into her complicated legacy. Barbara's work became a promise—one where, even in the bleakest moments, creativity can change the story.