Mars Black and his dark humour

Mars Black and his dark humour

Photo credit: Mars Black

Text: Anna Mar

August 09 23

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There is a phrase in Shakespeare's Hamlet: “Brevity is the soul of wit”. This quote comes to my mind when I look at your paintings. Do you agree with this phrase? What is minimalist art to you?

It’s a good one, and who am i to argue with Shakespeare. I’m not sure how others define minimalist art, but i see it as a way to be quite free and experimental, its quite easy and tempting to over paint something, and it is certainly something i have done myself, but i just enjoy trying to keep things as simple as possible, especially because my canvases are very small, i like the challenge.
Mars Black is not only an iron oxide pigment developed in the 20th century, but also a British self-taught artist, Steve Smith, who gained incredible popularity for his witty and bold artwork.

Why did you choose the alias Mars Black?

The name comes from a shade of paint that i use, i always liked the idea of an alias, and i like the way it reflects the use of avatars and online identities we all have these days.

Your paintings attract attention with their balance between simplicity of composition and emotionally provoking content. How do such provocative subjects in your paintings come about? How is a concept born?

Personally i think my artwork is simply a reflection of myself. I am a relatively quiet person, but my thoughts and ideas can be quite provocative, i just find it amusing. I really love dark humour and I find the truth, as uncomfortable as it can sometimes be, is where the interesting and funny aspects of life can be found, and that is what interests me the most. It is just more fun. The concepts usually develop as i start painting, i rarely have an idea before i paint of where it is going to go, i just start and see what happens, and it usually starts to make sense to me somewhere along the way.

Choose three works that most clearly represent your artistic style. Why did you select them?

Choose three works that most clearly represent your artistic style. Why did you select them?

I love to paint the ocean and i like to incorporate words into my painting, usually placing them out in nature. I also choose to use swear words quite a lot because i think they are great

I also like to paint a lot of dogs, because why not? This one is a nice example of how i like to paint certain things in a pseudo renaissance style now and again, mainly just for my own amusement.

Some people tend to think this kind of minimalist art is too primitive. How do you respond to this criticism?

Honestly i just don’t mind what people think so i don’t take any of it as a criticism. If some people dislike the style thats totally fine with me. Personally i find great value in trying to create something in the most minimalist way possible as it is much harder to make the painting work. I think there is something very special about simplicity in creativity.

Your work often contains provocative themes. What role do you think art should play in society?

For me personally it is simply about being free to be creative and enjoy myself. But as for its role in society i suppose art is where we are totally free to express the truth about our experience of this world, whatever that looks like.

What do you think art shouldn't be?

Controlled.

Art created by artificial intelligence is very popular today. This trend is generating a lot of controversy and people from the art world. How do you see the further development of art?

At this point i really don’t know, but i suppose it will all depend upon how people value it. Judging by the way technology has affected everything else in the last couple of decades i think it is pretty certain things will change a lot.

But i think one of the most important factors in human creativity is limitation, and how we deal with that, and without limitations something is lost. I would say that art isn’t necessarily found in the work itself, but is found in the artist, that is where it really lives.

What is your favourite witty quote?

I don’t really have one, so i will just go with the classic – ‘time flies like the wind, fruit flies like bananas’.

Your paintings sell well. Do you collaborate with galleries? Do you have solo exhibitions?

I used to work with galleries when i first began painting, but as the internet took over all aspects of our lives it just became easier to sell work directly to the buyer, as it is possible to reach a worldwide audience just through your phone. I would still like to exhibit my work out in the real world and hope to do so at some point, but the problem i have at the moment is finding the time to get a collection together to display as everything sells so quickly.

And what are your future artistic plans?

I just intend to keep enjoying myself and having fun with my artwork, and see where that takes me. I never really planned this as the direction for my life, so i am happy for the universe to keep on driving me where it likes.

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