Peter Mars
Encyclopedia
Peter Mars is an American artist with ties to both the Pop Art
and Outsider Art
movements.
, a small private college in Portland, Oregon from 1977 to 1982, earning a degree in chemistry.
, Louisiana
. He lived and worked in the French Quarter
during the mid-1980s. It was there that he learned printmaking
while working in the silkscreen studio of the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.
Mars’ paintings incorporate the use of silkscreen or serigraphy (from the French words for “silk writing”) on various mediums including wood, canvas, and paper.
In the tradition of Pop Art
, mechanical repetition plays an important part in Mars’ work. He is known for completing his paintings in series, where the same image appears, each time within a slightly different context. His workis inspired by popular culture including everyday objects like old signs, billboards, match packs, TV shows, candy wrappers, and wallpaper.
Peter Mars was named an official artist of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2008. In 2011, his exhibit ELVIS ran at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
"Witty and excitingly of the moment." -New Orleans Times Picayune
"Leader of Chicago's Avant Pop movement" -Chicago Sun Times
"A mixture of spiritual consumerism, banality, and resonant mystery." - New Orleans Art Review
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
and Outsider Art
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
movements.
Early life and education
Mars attended Reed CollegeReed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
, a small private college in Portland, Oregon from 1977 to 1982, earning a degree in chemistry.
Art career
In 1982, Mars moved to New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He lived and worked in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
during the mid-1980s. It was there that he learned printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
while working in the silkscreen studio of the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.
Mars’ paintings incorporate the use of silkscreen or serigraphy (from the French words for “silk writing”) on various mediums including wood, canvas, and paper.
In the tradition of Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, mechanical repetition plays an important part in Mars’ work. He is known for completing his paintings in series, where the same image appears, each time within a slightly different context. His workis inspired by popular culture including everyday objects like old signs, billboards, match packs, TV shows, candy wrappers, and wallpaper.
Peter Mars was named an official artist of Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2008. In 2011, his exhibit ELVIS ran at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
Reviews
“Brilliant, quirky.” –NYUnews.com"Witty and excitingly of the moment." -New Orleans Times Picayune
"Leader of Chicago's Avant Pop movement" -Chicago Sun Times
"A mixture of spiritual consumerism, banality, and resonant mystery." - New Orleans Art Review