Title
Round
Spray paint on laser print
65 x 49 x 4 inches
Estimated Value Range:
$4,000 - $6,000
Starting Bid: $2,000
Bidding increments: $250
Among visitor favorite exhibitions at moCa, Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia (2016) ranks near the top. No surprise, given Mark’s hometown connection, his legendary rock status, and his exceptionally creative and unusual artistic practice which merges visual, musical, and literary art. This artwork blows up and reimagines a page from the artist’s 1978 book, My Struggle by Booji Boy, a fictitious character he often performed as with his band, Devo.
Mark Mothersbaugh (b. 1950, Akron, OH) is an American artist, musician, and composer whose multifaceted creative output spans visual art, music, performance, and more. Best known for his pioneering role in the band DEVO, Mothersbaugh’s work interrogates themes of de-evolution, societal collapse, and the absurdity of contemporary life. His Untitled (My Struggle Prints) from 2016 highlights the artist’s ongoing exploration of collage, absurdism, and the dissection of American identity. The prints serve as an extension of his My Struggle series, which incorporates a vast range of visual elements, from scientific illustrations to commercial ads, reflecting the peculiar, fragmented nature of contemporary culture.
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Mark Mothersbaugh
Artistic Practice
Mothersbaugh’s practice is deeply rooted in both his early life experiences and his involvement with DEVO. After being diagnosed with severe nearsightedness and becoming legally blind, he began creating art as a way to compensate for his altered vision, leading to an obsession with imagery and illustrations. This early experience of "seeing the world differently" can be seen throughout his body of work, especially in his My Struggle prints. These works combine collage, photography, and his signature blend of pop culture commentary, often humorously disfiguring bodies and texts to create unsettling yet compelling visuals. The My Struggle series offers a disorienting glimpse into a world where the lines between the sacred, the absurd, and the terrifying are blurred.
Notable Works and Exhibitions
The My Struggle Prints are part of a broader body of work that spans multiple mediums, from mail art and postcards to music videos and stage shows. Mothersbaugh’s prolific output includes daily postcard drawings—over 25,000 of which he’s created since the 1980s. These works began as personal diaries but became a crucial aspect of his artistic identity, shared in exhibitions such as HOMEFRONT INVASION! in 2003. His photographic work, Beautiful Mutants, also demonstrates his obsession with visual symmetry and "corrected" imagery, challenging norms of representation and visual harmony.
Mothersbaugh’s art has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including retrospectives at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and national touring shows. His major exhibition Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia (2014) brought together a comprehensive look at his art and music, accompanied by a catalog and postcard collection titled Mark Mothersbaugh: Collected Facts & Lies (2015). These exhibitions have cemented his legacy as a significant visual artist and have provided a platform for his ongoing exploration of personal and societal mythologies.
About the Artist
Mothersbaugh’s work has been informed by his formative years in Akron, Ohio, and his time with DEVO. DEVO, formed after the Kent State shootings in 1970, was instrumental in shaping the band’s core philosophy of de-evolution, a theory that critiques the decline of society through the lens of pop culture, politics, and technological progress. Through the band, and in his solo works, Mothersbaugh has explored the absurdities of modern life, creating works that challenge conventional narratives about art, identity, and culture. His music compositions for films like Peewee’s Playhouse and for Wes Anderson’s films are just as integral to his artistic practice as his visual work, reflecting his ability to merge sound and image into one cohesive narrative.
Selected Exhibitions and Collections
Myopia Retrospective, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO
HOMEFRONT INVASION! (2003), National Tour
BEAUTIFUL MUTANTS (2004), National Tour
Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia (2014), Princeton Architectural Press
Mark Mothersbaugh: Collected Facts & Lies (2015) Postcard Book
Mark Mothersbaugh: Untitled (My Struggle Prints), 2016
Collections: Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
