Today I welcome Marko Stout, multimedia artist, to Spinning Pearls. Art and artists have always fascinated me, so I was delighted to get down to some curious questioning.
Q. Hi, Marko - Multimedia is a familiar term, but what does it mean in terms of your art?
A. A multimedia artwork can move and occupy time or develop over time, rather than remaining static as with traditional media. The work now engages senses of sight, hearing, touch and even smell. The newer formats provide an expansive palette for artistic expression for today's artists; I don’t think an artist should limit themselves to a particular medium.
Q. Do you see your work as primarily of interest to the greater public or to experts?
A. I create work that primarily interests and inspires me, hopefully it also clicks with critics and collectors. So, regardless of what others think it will still be great art to me. You need to create as if you’re not afraid of critics- they will always be critical, it’s their job.
Q. What is your own attitude to 21st Century urban life?
A. New York can be a very busy place filled with modern stress that never seems to really stop, being at red alert all day and every day- 24/7. But this is great for the artist and curious people, there is so much to taken in, some many unlimited opportunities to observe all types of people and really just not enough time. So a good artist must also intrinsically now how to distill and edit everything, so the viewer will understand what he’s talking about. This is the best time to live in the best city in the center of the universe- I love it!
Q. Does your subjects' reaction reflect or exaggerate yours?
A. When working with a model I try to provide the basic idea of what we’re going for a defined sense of its meaning- but I like the freedom to capture the aesthetic that appears sublime- that cannot be directed.
Q.Do you see your work as gallery/show based, or is it also acquired by people who just happen to love one piece?
A. Some of the larger installations or collection of works are meant to be taken as a whole and cannot be broken into smaller individual elements or the entirety and meaning of the piece ceases to exist. But, much of my work and especially the prints are indeed meant to stand alone as a lone gallery display or part of a collector’s assembly. We are now starting to provide some of the more popular standalone prints on a limited edition print series in galleries.
Q. Has your style changed a lot over the years?
A. I know my style has been influenced by the changes in the New York society that I’m trying to comment on in my work and the changes in technology and mediums that allow of ever more comprehensive artistic expression. I’m not sure if you could say my work belongs to any particular art movement or style, but whatever the style is, it is definitely modern and very 21st century. One thing that is certain is we live in a time where everything is always changing very quickly- and a relevant artist must change also. I think the terms of styles and artistic movements are losing their meaning as we all blend styles and techniques to communicate an artistic idea or a certain feeling or make a comment on society- that’s the nature of modern art.
Thanks so much for this, Marko. I love to hear from people so enthusiastic and focused on their works. For anyone wishing to find out more about Marko Stout and his artistic vision, head off to http://www.markostout.com/
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