Q&A with Mark Schmidt

Mark currently has a 23-piece show going on in a restaurant, Buddies, in Chicago, and was part of the Holiday One-Piece Show at the Dean Johnson Gallery. He is also represented in the current group show at LAMP, 1st Show of 2004, which runs through Feb. 28.

Q:What are you reading now?
A:I am currently reading two books: Three Junes by author Julia Glass and the biography of Peggy Guggenheim.

Q:What do you like about the Indy art scene?
A:I like that the Indianapolis art scene seems to be in the midst of a revival. Being relatively new to Indy, I haven’t had real extensive exposure to the art scene. But there are great new galleries opening like LAMP, where they take a chance and allow new artists to have a place to show their work. There are also incredible work spaces for artists, such as the Wheeler building, and the Murphy building. It’s encouraging to see a city take in artists, provide them with low-cost spaces and allow them a place to showcase their work.

Q:What don’t you like?
A:Having been in numerous shows and galleries in Atlanta, the one thing I found about Indy that I don’t like is the lack of galleries willing to take a chance on new artists. It’s a vicious catch 22. A lot of the spaces here want established artists with extensive resumes, but they are not willing to put them in shows to allow their resumes to gain some strength. The scene here seems to be very political in that sense.

Q:Who is your inspiration?
A:As far as my art is concerned, there are several artists whose work I admire and consider to be inspirations. I think Francisco Clemente is brilliant. His work is expressive, very cutting-edge and sexually charged. I also admire Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Basquait and English artist Howard Hodgkin.

Q:Drug of choice?
A:As much as I hate to admit it, nicotine is the only drug I chose and one I would like to break free of.

Q:Who is your favorite politician?
A:My favorite politician was my father, but unfortunately I lost him to cancer in February 2003. But I do like Jesse Ventura. He speaks his mind, isn’t afraid to do something about things that need to be addressed and genuinely knows that things in this country have to change.

Q:What’s the hardest thing about what you do?
A:I think there are a lot of hard things about being an artist. The term starving really hit home when I became a full-time artist a year ago. To be almost a slave to the need to paint often affects personal relationships and makes them hard to sustain. Artists are very emotional and some people can’t handle that. But in addition it’s hard to find space to show your work, and it’s a tough job to make a living at. The art world is about celebrity. You have to make a name for yourself to be considered “influential and relevant.”

Q:What’s your favorite TV commercial at the moment?
A:I don’t watch a lot of television, but I do love the Pepsi commercial where, to the background song of “Secret Agent Man,” the dog steals the sandwich and Pepsi from a table, only to place a cat on the table to take the rap.

Q:Can love be pornographic?:
A:I think love can be a number of things including pornographic. But what’s pornographic to some isn’t to others. Love can be exciting, frightening, dirty, clean, innocent, perverted and both the greatest and most dangerous feeling you’ll ever have.