Darkness And Light: Photographer Diana Michelle looks back on her art

In 2014, artist Diana Michelle got her first significant attention in Northwest Arkansas -- but it was as a filmmaker and biographer, not a photographer. It does make perfect sense, however, that her subject was a recluse named Tim West, who lived down a side road past the Winslow gas station.

West was an artist himself, one who reportedly had seen his work exhibited in some of the biggest museums in the country. But he lived in a one-room shack that was falling down around him, surrounded by his drawings, sculptures, etchings and cats.

Diana Michelle, who grew up in Little Rock and Hot Springs before moving to Fayetteville to go to college, was drawn to photography as an art practice -- perhaps compelled is a better word -- by her passion for places like West's.

"Ever since I was young and we would drive to my grandparents' house in rural Hattieville, Ark., I remember looking out the windows and seeing all the old houses, and I was so interested in them," she says. "I was always curious as to what was inside and how incredibly beautiful those houses looked in a state of decay, showing the passage of time. There is just something about that.

"The first time I knew I had a really good picture," she goes on, "it was inside an abandoned house. I saw a window frame laying up against the wall, and the lighting was perfect, and the shadows were amazing, and I felt like I was onto something. This was almost 20 years ago. I was hooked, and basically abandoned houses are pretty much all I photograph for fine art.

"I am more attached to the ones that creep people out," she admits with a smile. "I hope to haunt the viewer just a little bit."

Diana Michelle -- who no longer uses the last name Hausam professionally -- is currently showing a retrospective of her work titled "Looking Back, Moving Forward" at Eclectic Kitchen in Fayetteville. It is hosted by Art Ventures, which represents her art, and is, according to the gallery, "the mark of a significant recalibration in Diana Michelle's visual parameters that will lead to more revelations and become an important part of her professional oeuvre."

More simply put, she says, it marks the beginning of new works in color that are "even darker than my black-and-white pieces."

Being an artist during the pandemic has been a struggle, she says, and has affected how she thinks about her art and her career as an artist.

"Let's face it: Being an artist is hard already. It just is. So now, here we are, in the midst of a pandemic. Things may slowly get better, but some things will forever suffer to some extent. Art is the ultimate luxury item. It always has been and always will be.

[Don't see the podcast above, click here: nwaonline.com/dianamichellepodcast/]

"That being said, I am working harder as an artist than ever. I am still here, doing what I do regardless of what is happening in this crazy world, needing to still be recognized for my work. I am just doing the best that I can.

"I am also getting back into documentary filmmaking after my long break from the Tim West short film 'Westland' that I spent so much time on," she adds. "I am still working on the feature-length documentary. I am finding so many interesting people, the universe is connecting us, and I feel that, and I know what I am supposed to do.

"I see that things are slowly getting better, and this gives me a tremendous amount of hope, but it is a slow process," Diana Michelle muses. "My desire never dies, though. Every chance I get to show my art, talk about my art, teach art, do art, I am 100 percent there, pandemic or not.

"I am committed to being an artist and what that truly takes and what it can take out of you -- hence the darkness in my work."