Mark Mann is an American artist known for utilizing visual elements from 1960s and 70s era postcards to form the basis of his photographic art works. The resulting pictures create an uneasy tension between truth

Truth

Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...

 and fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

. They cite artifacts from the time, such as roadside motels and vacation destinations that refer to memories of family journeys. The journeys are mixed with dreamlike symbolism to create ironic images that go beyond memory. They are dramas staged to communicate the loneliness and alienation that accompanies the American dream.

Biography

Born in Oklahoma City

Oklahoma city

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, Mann lives and works in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. His work has been purchased and collected by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....

, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, Florida, The George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, and the Progressive Corporate Collection.

Selected exhibitions

• Last Resort, Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles, CA
• No Eyes, The Collection of W.M. Hunt, FOAM, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2007)
• Aluminum, Silver and Chrome, Marion Center for Photographic Arts,The College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM (2006)
• Portfolios: Seeing in Series, Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY (2006)
• No Eyes, The Collection of W.M. Hunt, Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne (2006)
• Common Ground, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC (2006)
• No Eyes, The Collection of W.M. Hunt, Recontres Internationales, Arles, France (2005)
• Four Easy Pieces, Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY (2005)
• Focus On: New Photography, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, FL (2005)
• Common Ground, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell, Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington D.C. (2004)
• Center of Photographic Arts 14th Awards Exhibition, Carmel, CA (2004)
• Art |35| Basel, Messe Basel, Laurence Miller Gallery (2004)
• What I Did on My Summer Vacation, G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, WA (2004)
• Are We There Yet? Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
• Oases, Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
• The Burbs, DFN Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
• Home, Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York, NY (2003)
• Flash: Swimsuits & Sports, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA (2003)
• Transcending Reality: Pinhole to Digital, Freddie Fong Gallery, S.F., CA (2003)
• Wish You Were Here, Laurence Miller Gallery, New York, NY (2001)

Publications

• LA Weekly, Must See Art, Amra Brooks, April 18, 2007
• Pasatiempo Nov. 24, 2006, The New Mexican, Santa Fe, NM
• The New York Sun, Calendar, May 5, 2005
• The Village Voice, May 11, 2005
• Common Ground, Selections from the Collection of Julia J. Norrell, Merrell 2004
• NY Arts Magazine Vol 9 no 1/2, Are We there Yet? Courtney Mallen, 2004
• Artnet Magazine, Jean Dykstra, Contact Sheet Nov, 11, 2003
• Absolutearts, Oases Exhibition review July 9, 2003
• Orion Magazine, Swimming the Mojave by Ellen Meloy, Spring 2002
• Pasatiempo, The New Mexican, Santa Fe, NM, June 1994

External links

• Laurence Miller Gallery, New York City
• Markmannphotography.com (Mann’s site)

Mark Mann on Artnet