~MARK ENGER MEMORIAL CELEBRATION
MARK ENGER – MEMORIAL CELEBRATION
SAT – MARCH 26, 2011 – FROM 2-4 PM
St. MARK’S CHURCH – 131 EAST 10th St at 2nd Ave – NYC
MARK ENGER 1963 – 2011.
I’m thinking maybe – just maybe – RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA throws the occasional glance or two – at artlovers – and was moved to include – a silkscreen-artist-at-work installation at – ‘FEAR EATS THE SOUL’ – by our recent coverage of the worldly departing of our dear friend and silkscreen artist – supremo – MARK ENGER – who called his studio . . . which he ran with his identical twin brother MATT . . . EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE . . . and which Matt continues to run.
MARK ENGER – in his studio just about one year ago – a true American hero.
an amazing super talented artist who silkscreened on canvas – as well as on pretty much everything else.
T-shirts included. He died sadly this past January 2011, not quite 48 yrs old. after a long and brave battle with throat cancer.
yeah. smokin’ too many of those damn ciggies – brought this sweet cowboy down.
MARK was a master silkscreener – you can watch him at work, here: MARK ENGER AT WORK/YouTube !!
and yeah, Mark also printed in-your-face slogans . . . but more about the art world – than the world at large.
ALL ARTISTS ARE WHORES
ALL CRITICS ARE LIARS
ALL DEALERS ARE PIMPS
ALL COLLECTORS ARE PIGS
FASCIST. ARTIST – DEALER – COLLECTOR – ON A MYLAR SCREEN.
Mark really liked to screen on utility jackets.
in fact, I first met him at PSEUDO – where he was silk screen artist-in-residence for JOSH HARRIS. he silkscreened our in-house crew work shirts at QUIET – and he plays a cameo role in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – yep, he is the drunken cowboy. who couldn’t get back in the party.
yeah. his imagery got a little more aggressive – in the face of death. I guess that will do it to, ya.
talk about walking around – and maybe having your silkscreened message – provoke an attack.
liberal society or not.
but he also addressed the American past . . .
the Revolutionary War, the Civil War. cowboys . . .
and Native American Indians.
an army brat, born in FORT SILL, Oklahoma – he came by his imagery – from the ground up.
to visit Mark in his studio . . .
was truly to see . . .
poetry – in action.
he was definitely into making one-off – ‘unique’ – images from the ‘press’.
Mark Enger, gone – but not forgotten.
REST IN PEACE.
ONLY THE GOOD – DIE YOUNG.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH.
STUDIO VISIT. EXPLODING SKY, Newark, N.J. APRIL 2010.