Artist Statement
My current work is about our relationship with food. It is estimated that as much as fifty percent of the fresh produce grown in the United States does not make it to market, often because it is not attractive enough to sell. It is also estimated that one fourth of all food purchased in the United States is thrown out because it is not eaten in time. My food paintings began as a way to document the food in my refrigerator that is thrown out: tomatoes that have softened, an eggplant that starts to mold, wilty lettuce, etc. As time has gone by, I have realized we are not only what we eat, but we are also what we do not eat. The chicken carcass in my garbage can only exists because there are parts of the chicken that I do not like. Instead of turning them into broth or adding them to soup, they become garbage tossed out into the world. There is a tomato that is forgotten at the back of the refrigerator that becomes soft because of my lack of engagement in my weekly menu (oh, I can just run to the store). Just as the food we do eat becomes an allegory for who we are, the food we do not eat is an allegory of us as well. We have become soft like the tomato, we leak and leach into our surrounding environments, slowly become empty of any substance that can sustain our own life.
Many of my paintings include a plate on which the food sits. I am interested in the Native American ritual of thanking the animal for its sacrifice before it becomes food. In a real sense, the food that we eat, the chicken, the fish, the cow, and even all the plants, have their own life they are living before they become our food. It is not until we put them on a plate that they become food. Two dead fish on the edge of a river is different than two dead fish on a plate at a nice restaurant.
Many of my paintings include a plate on which the food sits. I am interested in the Native American ritual of thanking the animal for its sacrifice before it becomes food. In a real sense, the food that we eat, the chicken, the fish, the cow, and even all the plants, have their own life they are living before they become our food. It is not until we put them on a plate that they become food. Two dead fish on the edge of a river is different than two dead fish on a plate at a nice restaurant.
Lastly, I am interested in the corruption of our food system. We, as a species, are actively involved in producing food that is toxic to ourselves. Vanitas paintings were created in the 16th and 17th Centuries to remind people of their mortality. These paintings would include a skull or a piece of rotting fruit. In a contemporary context, I am
interested in the fact that the symbol for one's mortality, rotting
food, has actually become a symbol for life and healthiness. With
our current food manufacturing practices; growing food with toxins,
adding non-digestable items, replacing healthy sugars with concocted
syrups that cause disease, creating food-filler from by-products of
other industries, and genetically altering our food we have created
food that is unhealthy and does not rot or spoil for months or years.
What once was a symbol of death, spoiled food, has now become an
indicator that it is good for you – if it can rot it is natural and
healthy and still full of all those vitamins and minerals that help
you live a good long life.
Biography
I have always been an artist, as long as I can remember. I have
always drawn and painted and made things. As a kid, I used to draw
scenes of mayhem and awaiting disasters for guys who would bike across a
page. In junior high I made my first painting - a dragon. In high
school, my art teacher let me create my own classes, and in my academic
classes I doodled in all my margins instead of taking notes. I went to
college to study art and eventually got my Masters of Fine Art in New
York City at Brooklyn College.
I have been painting oil paintings and watercolors ever since. I have taught art for many years, created public art pieces, coordinated programs, organized exhibits and been fortunate enough to sell my work.
I have been painting oil paintings and watercolors ever since. I have taught art for many years, created public art pieces, coordinated programs, organized exhibits and been fortunate enough to sell my work.
One day in 1993, I called the local zoo and conservatory and told them they should have an artist to teach classes and paint images of the park. They agreed with me and asked me to come teach art. From 1994 to 2003 I was the Arts Program Manager at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory and established the education department. In this capacity, I coordinated art and gardening classes and programs for adults and children and managed public art projects at the zoo and conservatory.
In 2001, I established the Botanical Arts and Illustration Certification program at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.
From 2005 to the present, I have been the Arts and Gardens Program Coordinator for the City of Saint Paul Department of Parks and Recreation. In this capacity, I oversee the design, planting and maintenance of the public gardens of Saint Paul, MN. This includes 300 garden beds, 160 planters and 500 hanging baskets. I also oversee the maintenance of the public art collection. My job is to help beautify Saint Paul.
Other than painting, writing and gardening, Mark is a caretaker of an island on the U.S./Canadian border for the Ernest C. Oberholtzer Foundation.
