‘Under the Surface’ by Lead Pencil Studio (Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo).

‘Under the Surface’ by Lead Pencil Studio (Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo). LEAD PENCIL STUDIO

1. The first reason takes me back to a conference room on the upper floor of the Frye Art Museum last year. The arts editors of The Stranger were all treated to a very fine catered lunch and introduced to the idea that the Frye would be mounting an exhibition of the artists who’ve won the Stranger Genius Award. My food formed into little conflict-of-interest-shaped chunks as it slunk down my throat. I was relieved as months went by and I never heard another word about the exhibition, until I read about it in the press releases with all the other writers. Still, the fact remains that I had a hand in picking most of the artists in the galleries today…

Jen Graves (The Stranger’s former arts critic) mostly writes about things you approach with your eyeballs. But she’s also a history nerd interested in anything that needs more talking about, from male...