Mark Wagner is an American artist best known for meticulous collages made of US bankotes.
His work is displayed in prestigious venues like the MoMA, Library of Congress, Smithsonian and Whitney Museum of American Art.
We sat down for a quick chat with Mark before the launch of his very first blockchain auction on seen.haus
Q. This is definitely one of our most anticipated auctions, why do you think your art has resonated so deeply with the community?
A. Though i’m a paper and glue guy, and you all are virtual and digital, there’s a real similarity of spirit here. We are all geeks. We all participate in esoteric knowledge.
We all have at least a little anarcho capitalism in us. We have all peeked behind the veil of world finance and found it lacking. We are all curious, imaginative, and engaged enough to think outside of boxes which others would simply tick.
Q. There is an insane amount of detail put into each one of your pieces, what is the most challenging part of your process?
The challenge I love most is fitting the content to the craftsmanship. I can glue up anything i want. The trick is finding the subjects and themes with staying power. If i’m going to spend two weeks or two months or two years making a collage i want the subject needs to be engaging and desirable.
Q. You have an interesting perspective on money and the power it holds over all of us, what are your thoughts on the euphoria we’re seeing in the financial markets?
Euphoria is a great word. We use all these emotional words to discuss money. Which is directly at odds with how most economists, accountants, bankers, and other bean counters would have you think about it.
They try to make a dry mathematical science out of an inherently wet social phenomenon. Money is a deep one. Wrapped up in the basics of being human… morality, generosity, indebtedness, interaction. We are more emoters of money than counters of money.
Q. I know you recently moved out of New York, is there anything you miss about living in a big city?
Bagels, pizza, good cheep Mexican food. I must be hungry, hold on, I’m going to go grab a snack.
Q. Do you see yourself getting more involved with NFT’s after learning about the space over the last few weeks?
Money keeps changing forms. Art keeps changing forms. Now that i’ve hooked up with you guys, it’d be great to continue the conversation!!!
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Thanks again to Mark for taking the time to speak with us and also choosing seen haus for his first ever blockchain auction.
Looking forward to working together again soon!
Follow Mark Wagner here:
Website: http://markwagnerinc.com/
Instagram: @markwagnerinc
Follow seen haus here:
Website: seen.haus
Twitter: @seen_haus
Telegram: http://t.me/seenhaus
