Tell me about your history in the artist world.

My history in the “artist world” is paradoxical. I have only been in the “art world,” insofar as
I have been becoming part of a larger arts community in all it’s pockets and layers, for the past
few years. But aside from this context, I suppose I’ve been in the artist world in one capacity or
another my whole life. In many ways I see my life as a process of becoming. I don’t see myself
as becoming an artist as much as becoming myself, and I see the artist side of me is probably the
closest thing to genuine I have experienced in life. I suppose this will ebb and flow my whole life.

What was your first experiment in art/how old were you?

It’s hard to say for sure, because I see my art today as simply another version of what I did when
I was a young kid growing up in Minnesota. As a kid I think I often found myself wrapped up in
some escape: building forts in the woods, drawing, exploring, and getting lost in my imagination.

But I suppose where art denotes some deliberate process, my first experiments took place in later
adolescence and much more when I was living and working in Northeast Wyoming. At that time
I found myself (another story) working in a coal mine with lots of time, energy and emotion on
my hands. Art became both a process of reflection and fulfilling a deep need to find connection
with others. I guess that was around age 20.

How did this develop into your current career?

Over the course of my 20’s art was not so much directed toward career but almost more of
a diary without words. It was a way for me to reflect on experiences, communicate with
myself and others, and perhaps a way to derive meaning and worth from my experience. My
development as an artist has been much more of an intellectual, spiritual and emotional journey
than one of a traditional “art career.” In this way art has never been so much the thing I wanted
to do as much as an expression of some other process. Ironically as art, and other things,
helped me to cope or maybe work through some things, the meaning and process has drastically
changed for me over time. Where it may have been about coping and connecting in my early 20s
it seems more purely about process, exploration, and challenge currently. For me art will never
be about getting somewhere. As soon as I figure something out I am quick to move into the next
thing. I think maybe a trick of being an artist and being an artist in the art world you spoke of
earlier is to learn to distinguish between the two processes. In one we are pushed to become
something, and have that work be what others identify with. If we don’t all sorts of judgments
follow; we lack identity, we are not mature, we haven’t “found ourselves.” But for me being an
artist is about a constant process of not necessarily becoming, but being. I don’t want to settle
into a comfort zone because, for me, that comfort zone is where I cross over into complacency
and simply acting as a technician who simply fabricates my own inventions to some other end, a
will to pleasure or power perhaps.

Although to be honest and fair I should own that this process is anything but smooth. And I suppose therein lies the lesson, joys and sorrows of life; this journey is not about perfection and I have tried to learn to embrace my great many flaws. I used to think life was about getting happy. Now I think life is about doing what you love, sometimes that brings moments of happiness but, maybe more often than not moments of pain. But at least it’s mine, I earned it.

The development over time from Mark the researcher into Mark the artist/curator how did
it come about?

I have to say I was never really a researcher. My researcher friends would laugh at that. I did
a thesis and dissertation to fulfill requirements. But how did I go from the clinical psych. to the
arts? I suppose if we are describing things linearly I went from a brooder who sometimes used
art as a form of reflection or expression to a brooding psychologist, to a more refined brooding
artist/psychologist/art promoter. I never set out to BE a curator/businessperson etc., these things
are simply a product of my process and necessity. I realized over time that if I want to have the
privilege of living my life as an artist a certain amount of sacrifice and hard work was inevitable;
sometimes being an artist means doing things you despise, but it’s a means to an end.

And more specifically with reference to my values, I have tried to chip away over time to make
my life more about what I choose rather than what I “should” do or be. I simply try to listen to
the deeper voice of what I love, rather than the sometimes louder ones the world imposes or the
ones I impose on myself from a place that has nothing to do with my values. I am remiss to do
this or that thing just because certain people tell me I should. This has been with me my whole
life. This has often gotten me into trouble and allowed me to thrive. Doing what you think is
necessary by your heart is not necessarily what your teachers, parents, or in this case, the powers
that be in the art world, would want you to do. And sometimes when none of it makes sense you
say, fuck it, let’s go fishin.

Tell me about your current adventures in art, and some details about the jeans for justice
art mosaic?

My current adventures. The last two years have found me in this process of letting go. I suppose
my art in the past two years is very much a metaphor or expression of the process I described
above. I haven’t so much tried to paint things to be impressive or show some technical this
or that, but simply to see what I can do, in a given sitting, with little more than materials and
process as my guide; I want to see what I can do in a pressure cooker. The live painting has
helped me immensely. Regardless of the critics, live painting has allowed me the opportunity
to face some of my biggest fears, and learn how to be spontaneous, regardless of their presence.
Also, as I become more of an advocate for the arts I think live painting has been a great way
to connect with people and get them involved in the arts; it’s taking the art to them rather than
expecting them to go to an opening or museum.

In the future- In the past few weeks I have begun a process of getting back to the basics. I have
found that anytime I get back to the simple process of making art, in particular drawing, that
my art progresses. It’s even interesting to me that I haven’t really drawn that much in the past
couple years and, getting back to it I notice my skills have developed considerably, I guess as
a byproduct of painting so much and so spontaneously in the past couple years; I think I’ve
probably done close to 200 live painting demonstrations in the past couple years.

So I have a new body of work in my head, that’s going to take a lot more time, that I am starting to work on now. I am excited to see where it goes and if I have what it takes to execute it.

What are your future plans in art? In San Diego? On a global level? On a personal level?

Honestly the simplest and most straightforward answer is I don’t necessarily have plans as much
as a hope to continue to engage in the process I have the past couple years. It has served me well
and I am just going to continue in the same way and see where it takes me. Of course I have
some plans but they are always susceptible to change, dependant upon the outcomes along the
way.

Two things I have found clarity in the past few weeks are 1) committing myself more
wholeheartedly to the process of making art, and 2) pursuing an idea that’s been growing in my
mind over the past couple years that involves capturing the process of art and culture. That’s all
I’ll say about it for now.

Your background of working with people figures prominently in your art. Can you
elaborate?

I guess working with people in such unique settings has allowed me an eye into worlds outside
of myself. I guess I have never thought of it this way but my life over the past several years has
allowed me to see the world through hundreds of different points of view. This has allowed me
to see both the unique intricacies we all bring to the table, and the commonalities. What I notice
most is we are all capable of loving, hating, hurting, nurturing, etc. We all want, we all need, we
all dream. We all seek meaning, sometimes through things that hurt us, hopefully through things
that fulfill us. I can definitely see how my art has taken on the expression of these experiences
and perceptions. Especially in Identity, Mindful Malaise, and The Long Walk Home. These
paintings most exemplify where my future work is going.

Tell us a bit of your bio that you believe is relevant (where you’re from, where you
exhibited)

I’m from a small town with small ideas, I’ve moved to a bigger town with bigger ideas, and
everything in between.

Where I’ve shown? This may be off base, but I had an interesting conversation with a friend
the other day about the various labels we attached to artists and he commented that I am from
the underground. In talking about this I realized that no one, without knowing me, would ever
categorize my work as underground or grass roots, but in process this is exactly how I have
developed, just in my own way. I think people are far too quick to categorize based on content.
One of my little buttons is when people make judgmental comments on art, without asking or
knowing about the process. That’s just blatant ignorance. I frequently here people in general,
especially insecure artists, say “I could do that,” or “that’s sh--,” before they have any clue about
the genesis of that given work. It’s very easy to copy a style but incredibly difficult to create
your own. I could care less about your technique; show me you can think your own thoughts.

If you did not do art what can you see yourself doing?

It is funny but I notice in my spare time I am constantly wanting to make things. My Dad is the
same way. Maybe I have come full circle because where I used to rebel against the ways of my
Dad... I now embrace them. After all the school and everything else in between I just want to
make stuff. So if I did not do art I would probably build things; that does not necessarily mean
they would be literal.