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You can use this page to email Kristen Hutchinson about Monsters No More: How We Came to Love the Denizens of the Dark.
About the Book
The 21st century monster is no longer simply a monster but rather a sexy love interest, a morality tale, a metaphor for loss and trauma, a displacement of fears, and a symbol of female power. My fascination with supernatural creatures began when my parents took me to a theatre production of Dracula when I was eight. It is one of my earliest vivid memories, sitting in a dark, small-town theatre, equally mesmerised and terrified as the story of Dracula unfolded. That fascination has grown to encompass a myriad of creatures and led me to write Monsters No More: How We Came to Love the Denizens of Dark. This narrative non-fiction book delves into our contemporary obsessions with the supernatural. Visit www.kh1art.ca for a course related to this book.
Why do we want to have sex with vampires? Are female werewolves different than their male counterparts?Why do we aspire to kill zombies? Why do we long to prove the existence of ghosts? Why have we vilified witches? Why do demons so rarely possess men? I take up these questions, and many more, to explain why stories about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, witches, and zombies have captured our imaginations and hearts with an examination of art, film, and television created during this century.
About the Author
Dr. Kristen Hutchinson (they/she) is a queer, feminist, and gender-fluid visual artist, cultural critic, curator, writer, and editor, as well as an adjunct professor of art history, feminism, media studies, and popular culture. They received their PhD in the History of Art from University College London in 2007 and have taught courses on a vast variety of topics in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Hutchinson has worked as a nationally syndicated columnist on art and popular culture at CBC Radio and is the author of three books: Kiss & Tell: Lesbian Art & Activism (Art Canada Institute, 2025), Monsters No More: How We Came to Love Denizens of the Dark (Leanpub, 2025), and Prairie Tales: A History (Alberta Media Arts Alliance Society, 2017). They were the editor-in-chief of Luma Quarterly from 2018 to 2021 and for the journal’s final issue of 2024. In her artistic practice, they use collage, photography, video, installation, and performance art to investigate the realms of memory, beauty, mortality, embodiment, the environment, urban space, queerness, and the macabre. She has participated in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the UK, and the US. They are also the co-founder of fast & dirty, a rotating collective of artists and curators that creates exhibitions and art events for short durations in unusual environments and projects that challenge curatorial methods. Hutchinson teaches independent seminars about art history, feminism, gender studies, and popular culture in her living room and online.