Mark passed away two days ago. For those of you who didn’t know him, he was a friend of mine from my undergrad and the boyfriend of one of my best friends. I’m fairly certain that he would think posting this sort of thing on the web is retarded, but I think someone should write something.
I stole these pictures from his photojournal. All of my pictures of him were photoshop jokes.
microwave door self portrait
I met Mark about 7 years ago. I remember he was wearing a Skinny Puppy shirt, and for several weeks I mistook him for a goth chick. I never told him that, but Joe and I were pretty open about making fun of everyone of any significance at the station back then. If he heard it, I guess I’m sorry. I’m sure he had something to say about me. A big fat guy in a loud Hawaiian shirt is a pretty easy target.
I liked Mark. We were friends, but it’d be a lie to say we were close friends. He was quiet, and he had a bone dry sense of humor with a healthy dose of sarcasm. I could never tell, even when I talked to him on line in the last few months, if he was just making a simple observation or calling me stupid. When I first started talking to him in classes, we’d make fun of the other artwanks around us. The whole time I had this feeling he was making fun of me, but Mark seemed like he’d sooner keep quiet than strike up a conversation with someone he didn’t like.
I remember meetings at the radio station where Mark or Ray had some snide remark for every other thing Avi (the station manager) would try to say. I was lazy when it came to pestering Avi. I’d read my comics, talk with Ann, and eat my milk and cookies. I’d occasionally chime in or sing “I believe I can fly”, but Mark was relentless. I enjoyed those meetings a lot.
Reading that last bit, it sounds like we were assholes. Some people at the station certainly thought we were. I know I was. I enjoyed just being a jerk for the fun of it. Mark was dedicated to making a radio station with a strong musical philosophy; college radio for artists who weren’t already all over the big corporate stations. That isn’t to say he didn’t enjoy making jokes about Avi being dumb or fat.
I remember Mark’s sarcastic laugh. heh-eHHHHAA. You sort of make the sound without opening your mouth. It reminded me of a half-hearted rim shot. “Hey, that joke was almost funny.”
mirror self portrait
He was a far better bullshitter in art classes then I was. I couldn’t start pretending I read the material until the topic had been bounced around class for nearly twenty minutes. Somehow Mark, without ever reading the material, could jump right into a discussion and sound like he knew what he was talking about. He could speak with intelligence about his art in a way I still can’t after 2 years of graduate school. He may have been bullshitting, but that hardly counts against you when it comes to art.
We shared a love of fucking with people we thought were offensively stupid. That’s how I describe it, anyway. Avi was a dumb ass, but in what I feel was a lovable sort of way. Krieg was something else. After following his antics for months like grotesque fans, Mark and I made a website of photoshopped pictures of Krieg, the worst art student ever. We each supplied about half of the nearly 200 altered images that made up the site over the course of a semester. I wanted to post some of his examples, but I’m ashamed that I didn’t save any of Mark’s images from that site. I think he archived nearly everything (his CD and movie collections and every e-mail he has ever received and written). I’d bet money that his computer has every single page of that website.
It should go without saying that we both cared a lot for Ann. Mark was better to her than I ever was, and it was obvious how much they loved each other. Ann meant the world to him, and Mark meant just as much to her. When Mark got sick, I would worry about him, but mostly I was scared for Ann. I think Mark felt the same way.
Mark and Ann
I’m shocked that he’s gone. I’m upset that I didn’t save all of this stuff to remember him with when I had the chance. I never expected it to happen so suddenly. The last thing I ever talked to him about was that mp3 going around of Trent Reznor vocals over the Ghostbusters theme song. It is so frustrating to be 600 miles away from one of my best friends while she’s hurting so much.
If you knew Mark, I am sure his family could use your support. Information is coming on the service next weekend and possible donations to a cystic fibrosis charity.
If you know Ann, please give her your support. Even if she won’t ask for it, she needs your help right now. A comment on her journal is nice, but the Internet is so detached from reality. A visit or a phone call mean so much more. She needs to know people care about her.
Mark’s website is HERE.
If anyone knows a simple way to archive a livejournal without having authorship access to the account, please give me or Ann a head’s up.
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