September
2002
Mark Mothersbaugh's first solo art show in years
- Eegads!
Back in October of 2001, I'd invited
Mark to showcase his artwork at LUMP
gallery, which is owned and operated by two friends of mine
- Bill Thelen and Med Byrd. All three of us had talked for years
about having Mark do a showing at the gallery, but since Mark
hadn't done a solo show in almost 10 years, we never really pursued
it. I guess I was feeling particularly confident the day I asked
him...and he must've been having a good day, because he said he'd
definitely consider it. A little less than a year later, Mark
travelled to Raleigh for the show's reception on Friday, Sept.6th.
Back of postcard
used to promote the LUMP gallery show:
I
picked Mark up at the airport on the morning of his LUMP reception.
He was noticably frazzled from the redeye flight, but was in good
spirits and interested in talking about the show. It was too early
for him to check into his hotel, so we went to my house to work
on a price/title sheet for the show.
Upon entering my small, obsessively decorated house, I promptly
directed him to the cove of DEVO, displayed with care.
I asked if I could get a photo of him posing within the shrine,
like he's part of the collection. He responded by pulling records
out of the neatly displayed pile in rapid-fire time and said,
"You've gotta take a picture of me doing this!". While
a couple 12"s fell to the floor, I grabbed my camera and
snapped a photo. (Photo shown in the right
column, 2nd picture down).
Then Mark did actually pose on the shrine -by climbing up onto
the already unstable shelves and perching in the corner with his
back towards me. As I backed up to get a photo of his strange
pose, he dropped his pants like a true Subgenius.
(tastefully censored photo shown in right column, 3rd picture
down).
Many folks showed up from all over the country, including a member
of Akron's own Rubber City Rebels, and orginial owner of The Crypt
(a club Devo played at in Ohio during the very early days). Fans
from Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and NY all made the trip,
and I think they all left satisfied.
To top it all off, LUMP gallery sold out of every single Mark
print within the first 2 days of the month-long show.
Mark really made a lot of folks happy with his visit, and he went
beyond the call of duty.
If you missed this show - DON'T FRET! Mark was *very* inspired
by the LUMP show and all the folks he met during his trip to NC.
SEE ARTICLE IN The SPECATOR on Mark's LUMP show.
World's Sexiest Senior Citizen
fights to regain control of his praying hand.
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Front of postcard used to promote
Mark's LUMP gallery show.
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