Marc Brotherton
Eric Reymond
Eric Reymond: Your paintings seem to me about communication, referring to codes, language, as well as maps, signage. Why is communication important to you?
Mark Brotherton: It seems a part of our times. We have information all around us. Not only pagers, cell phones, identification numbers, tracking devices, etc., but also other types of communication like computer languages, maps, schematic drawings or diagrams that demonstrate how something should function. These forms of communication look a certain way, but do not necessarily function in the way that you would expect.
ER: So, is there a disconnect between the form of the communication and its message?
MB: Yes. In my work, I wish to present schematics or images of things that the viewer has to invent for her or himself. In general, representing things in 2D creates ambiguities and allows viewers to play a role, to participate in the viewing.
ER: But, you also include coded language in your paintings.
MB: In my earlier paintings the symbols functioned as a secret code. The individual symbols were my own invention, and were somewhat difficult to decipher. In more recent paintings the symbols have become easier to read. For me, the codes are to the images like lyrics to music. They add another level of significance in the paintings.
ER: Tell me more about the images. Where do they come from?
MB: I wish to suggest something otherworldly, from the dream world, or maybe from a dimension not our own. The images refer to objects that serve a purpose, have a function, something someone can consult on a daily basis. The paintings have a common, everyday reference point in the mundane world, and they present a crossing of our mundane world with sublime or numinous realms. I often begin with automatic drawings in my sketchbook and use these as the starting point for the paintings, which range in sizes from seven square foot surfaces to smaller works on paper.
ER: Why is the idea of function so important to your work?
MB: When I was young, my grandfather in Topeka, Kansas fancied himself an inventor, making wacky and functional things. For example, after the assassination of Kennedy, he designed a clear, bulletproof shell that could be carried by the presidents guards on either side of him, thus, allowing the president–or whatever public official–to remain protected while walking through a crowd. Or, another example of an invention is something he labeled "the Worlds Most Baffling Square," a puzzle made essentially out of shapes cut out of cardboard. So, these images and designs surrounded me when I was growing up and he is the one who actually suggested I become an artist.
ER: And this is not the only creative thinker in your family. If I remember correctly your stepfather, Manuel Ybarra, was an artist who worked in stained glass. Do you think he or his work had an influence on you, for example, in your use of color?
MB: Yes he did influence me greatly. I saw him as an acting artist. I mean it was a real thing–that is how he supported our family. I would watch him making stained glass art for clients and also as a teacher. He taught classes on how to make stained glass art in our basement. I learned a lot from him artistically. It was as if I were his student also. I think the graphic quality and the bold use of color in my work are the most obvious. I remember as a kid we would travel in our van across the US to pick up beautifully colored glass. This glass was special, it was very hard to get so we would have to travel 1,000 miles round trip just to get it. I think he taught me the importance and dedication to an art form.
ER: In my own research, I’m interested in the process through which art or literature is created. How do you go about working?
MB: I tend to begin, as I said before, with drawings in a sketchbook. Before starting a painting, I’ll go through drawings and thoughts I’ve left in my notebooks and try to match these together. I enlarge the images onto paper or canvas and then I set myself certain rules or guidelines for the painting. For example, I’ll decide that I have to use a certain number of colors, or only one color. Over the past five years the colors have been the thing that has challenged me the most. Currently, I’m in an additive phase. I tend to add more elements from different, past paintings and combine them into a single work. Old paintings morph into one another, into a new painting. I tend to pack on details or elements and then figure out which I like and strip anything away that I don’t think works. I’m very methodical in my approach. I ask myself to justify each of my decisions while I’m painting.
ER: You mentioned your newer work. What is characteristic of your newer work?
MB: With my newer work, I have been thinking about transmitting, movement, broadcasting. These ideas have arrived with a change in materials. I’ve been painting on paper for the last year or so and this enables me to make them quicker not to hold them as precious. It’s not as costly emotionally or monetarily. So, this allows me to explore some of these new ideas about broadcasting. The political climate has also affected my thinking process. Political events have woken me up to the fact that we cannot rely on others for trustworthy information.
ER: Where can someone find your work?
MB: I have a website: www.marcbrotherton.com and am working with the Richard Levy Gallery www.levygallery.com.
