The Static Craft of Multidisciplinary Artist Mark Vomit + Interview | www.Rhetter.com

 Interview with Mark Vomit

by Rhett Rhodes

via Mark Vomit on Giphy

    If you've ever explored the website or app Tumblr then there might be a chance you've seen a gif from multi-disciplinary artist Mark Vomit at one point or another. Maybe even without realizing it as Mark, besides his original VHS digitized art pieces, also creates gifs from old media whether it be a 90's commercial or a mid-2000s award show. The effort, artistic vision, and originality in Mark Vomit's gifs and art pieces that he creates himself (like the one linked above) are always unique, aesthetically pleasing, and more often than not, very humorous.

    Vomit makes his art more or less for himself more than anyone, proving that he truly is great at what he does; if he likes it, he'll post it. While also being on the social media platforms Instagram and Twitter, Mark's largest audience resides on Tumblr where some of his original art has gone viral more than once. In 2018, he posted 'You Are Not Immune To Propaganda' to Tumblr and as of now (July, 2022) it has garnered over 72,000 likes/reblogs. Besides digitizing VHS's and creating art with old televisions, Vomit has also experimented with music; solo or with bands, and accepts commissions to create art for people in his now prominent style.

    I recently got in touch with Mark Vomit via email, asked him for an interview, and then sent a set of questions. Luckily enough for me, he replied with very detailed answers. So, here I present to you, the Mark Vomit interview:

RR: What initially gave you the idea/or made you want to use real VHS and mix it with your artwork?

Mark Vomit: I started using TV/VCRs as a way to create stage visuals for a band I was in. We initially used a dvd player with a projector, but the dvd skipped. We didn't have extra laptops to use since they were being used for sound. So I started finding old tvs to set up on stage, considering they were relatively cheap, and unlikely to be stolen. That started me down the rabbit hole of creating original tapes for shows, then playing around with recording original images to tape, and collecting unmarked tapes to find interesting footage. A big part of what drives me creatively is reusing old media and finding interesting ways to use old technology.

RR: Where do you get your inspiration from when it comes to your original art that you record onto VHS? (the quotes; cartoon character drawings; etc).

MV: I do keep a notebook for interesting phrases or ideas I think of or come across. But usually the inspiration starts by just starting to draw and seeing where it goes. Some of my stuff is a direct comment on something I see in pop culture, and I just try to convey the message with an image instead of writing a tweet. Again, I like to reuse pop iconography, so pairing a phrase with a crude drawing of some pop culture character usually adds a bit of humor or levity to the idea.

RR: Some of your art and gifs have gone viral online and remain popular, was that ever expected or planned when you first started? Or just a nice surprise?

MV: It wasn't expected or planned, and I usually can't tell what people will respond to. Sometimes if something makes me laugh I think that'll be a good indication that people will like it, but that doesn't always pan out.

RR: What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? Would you ever make a movie and edit the whole thing in your style?

MV: This is a tough one because at a certain point I stopped keeping rankings of movies and music. There's just so much out there that I have a hard time quantifying things like that, or even thinking that's a useful way of discussing art. Some movies that I might have said in the past are your basic dude favs like: Return of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pulp Fiction, The Thing. Mandy would probably be my most recent favorite. Citizen Kane is also an answer I'd stand behind, even if it seems like a generic answer. I'd love to make a movie if I had a complete story that I felt was worth telling. I've considered I should start with shorts and see where that takes me. I'd also love to design just the intro credit sequence for a movie.

RR: What would be your message to other artists who would like to create things but don’t know where to start?

MV: Keep a journal for ideas. Be flexible: an idea for a movie could end up being an image, an idea for an image could end up being a song. You can always revisit those ideas later but you can lose a lot of creative momentum if you keep something on a shelf indefinitely because you don't think you have the resources or knowledge of how to make it a perfect manifestation. To that point, be resourceful and use the tools, materials, and ideas you have access to right now. Don't wait to make a thing because you don't have the perfect software or whatever you think you need. Use tutorials when you need them but also learn how to reverse engineer something and put it back together, as best you can. Learning on your own will help you find your individual style. Work consistently and use social media to share what you are making regularly so you can gauge your progress and see what people respond to. Listen to your inner voice and have fun!

via Giphy

    Mark's Tumblr is always queued up and posting short VHS gifs twice daily, so make sure to give him a follow and keep updated 24/7! His original VHS art is also available (honestly stylishly) via his Threadless merch shop, and to be honest out of the box, the simplest way to find all of his links to help support him is by going to www.markvomit.com where the links are displayed on the home landing page.

- Rhett Rhodes