The Phantom of Hackle Park

Wirsum was born in Chicago and was one of the earliest members of the Hairy Who, a group of Chicago Imagists who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center influenced by Surrealism, comic books, and Art Brut, or "raw art." Though he is primarily a painter, Wirsum has also worked with prints, digital art, and sculpture such as this.

How do we know toys from art? May a sculpture invite play, or must it demand dispassionate scrutiny? Wirsum works through pop-cultural forms typically not associated with high art: circuses, carnival games, and in The Phantom of Hackle Park, mass-produced toys.