Marko Stout isn't your typical artist. Rather than taking a direct path to the art world, Marko has taken many offshoots before finally pursuing his passion, including spending time as an orthopedic doctor. From South Africa to San Francisco to Manhattan, Marko uses his travels, observations and personal story to inform his work and his art. His newest series,“Chelsea Girls” will premiere at ArtExpo show this April in New York.
Influenced by 60s pop art and the work of Warhol and Lichtenstein, the exhibition is an expansion on the “Chelsea Girls” print series and will include seven prints and installation work with video. Imbued with a decidedly pop culture twist. Marko tells JustLuxe the story of his art and his upcoming works.
How would you describe your art?
My latest series entitled, “Chelsea Girls” juxtaposes urban patterns and rhythms with young women who appear alienated from their abstract city background andseemingly unaware of the industrial grit and fast-paced energy of their surroundings,to expose the human spirit in its most raw form. We’re presenting a window into the essence of city life, while blending in a burst of female vigor in the work throughurban-eqsue imagery and bold use of color, which capture the force and dynamism of city life.
Who have been your major influences?
I really like the atheistic of 60s pop art- of course Warhol, Richard Hamilton’s collages, Lichtenstein and Rauschenberg. The influence of free form beat literature, and the improvisation ideas of American jazz are definitely there in my work- the neorealism of much French and Italian cinema can often be seen in the eyes of my subjects… but as for my trademark vibrant colors, I would say that’s all me and maybe a bit of a chemical flashback from my collage days. Acid was still quite popular at the time.
You were a practicing orthopedic doctor; how did you end up moving from medicine to art?
Art has always been a big part of my life, even as a child I was always reading art books or at least looking at the pictures and trying to sketch them- some of my earliest childhood memories are from visiting galleries and museums. I even wore an Andy Warhol consume one Halloween when I was really young… needless to say the other children had no idea who I was. I later picked up a lot of technique and theory from an older friend and neighbor who was a painter and gallery owner, when I lived in a bohemian houseboat community on San Francisco Bay. However, New York is where I really found my muse and perfected my style.
Do you feel your time working as a physician in any way helped inform your art work?
Doctors are trained to observe, look at human behaviors to diagnosis. An artist also needs to be very good at detailed observation, to see with an artistic eye what other may not notice with a quick glance. The study of medicine also instills a very strong sense of self-discipline which is necessary for artists and writers- especially in the city where you are sounded with distractions and continual opportunities for vice and procrastination.
Your new series is called "Chelsea Girls," how did it come about?
We started taking photos of some of the more interesting characters near the Chelsea Hotel and around the area. It’s in their faces you see the hyperrealism of the urban jungle. Chelsea is still a very cool, rather gritty neighborhood in the city with a vibrant energetic art scene. It’s one of the remaining authentic areas of NYC. The dramatic rent increases over the last few years, in many of the traditional bohemian neighborhoods has forced artists and the interesting characters to seek refuge elsewhere- however Chelsea still seems to carry on with its own unique vibe… very much the soul of the city.
What is your process? How do you create your works?
It usually starts with a spark of inspiration… often when I’m having lunch or cocktails and people watching, which are the favorite past times of New Yorkers. When I have an idea for a piece I will often try to find a subject that projects what I’m looking for… sometime a model has such a strong personality that the work moves in an unexpected direction… I like when that happens.
In my latest series of “Chelsea Girls” prints, once I have a basic image the coloring and collage effects are added manually or digitally to achieve the feel or a message I’m going for in that particular piece.
Is there a particular message or point of view behind the series?
We are confronting stereotypes in art and the mainstream conceptions of female sexuality. The work abandons the cliché of idealizing young beauties as docile fantasies. But rather depicts the women as fierce and independent within their contemporary urban contexts. These fresh-faced girls reveal a strong and unwavering presence… they are unmoved by the spectator's gaze. Their confrontational stare and unwelcoming body language undermine the viewer's observation- sort of as areinvention of a femme fatale motif. We’re examining the subject’s efforts to strive beyond social, cultural, and moral contexts… serving to expose the modern woman's powerful role within the fast paced city.
It looks to be a very urban, New York work. How important is the city to your work?
Essential. My work is very much a chronical of my soundings, so it can only occur at this period of time in New York City. Everything is accelerated in the city, so my works has a certain intense energy and sense of urgency- a much exaggerated portrait of society and the human condition in our twenty-first century digital age. I find Berlin to have a similar energy level- however, if I lived in Paris I’m certain my work would be more subdued with more obscure metaphors. But, life is all too short so I prefer to live and work in the center of all this action… to be in New York!
Where can people see your artwork?
We’ll be exhibiting some of my latest work from the Chelsea Girls series at the ArtExpo show this April in New York. Which is coincidently a just a few blocks from the Chelsea Hotel where this series originated. We will also be exhibiting in the Hamptons this summer and various galleries in New York and Berlin.
Are you working on any new projects at this time?
I’m currently completing the finishes for the ArtExpo exhibition and the Hamptons show. These exhibitions will include some installation and newer video elements that I’m very excited about. The work is an expansion on the Chelsea girl print series.
Check out more about Marko Stout at http://www.markostout.com.
