INTERVIEW BY CHRIS THOMAS
Mars Hobrecker is a queer artist currently in his final semester at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in Manhattan. Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mars has become a staple of a new wave of artists in New York City who are breaking down traditional boundaries of gender, race, class, and sexuality. Through his work and the work of others in his community of radicals, the next generation of art is being redefined through a queer lens.
CT | First of all, I wanted to say that I absolutely love your work and am really inspired by the unflinching rawness of the subject matter you address through art. Looking at your website, it’s immediately clear that you are not afraid to tackle subjects that might be considered taboo. One thing I really admire about your art is that it almost always has an implementation of performance and manipulation of your body in really interesting ways. What inspired you to start doing these kinds of visceral body-based art pieces?
MH | I come from a photographic background, that’s what I studied, and at some point the photos I was taking started to become much less about the image, and more about what I was enacting for the camera, so performance seemed like a natural step. At the time that shift was starting to happen I was feeling really disconnected from my body; I was disassociating a lot, and I would try to make work that would have me interact with my body and the camera in ways that would force me to come back to myself a little bit. It was healing, and I think it was necessary.
CT | I think we get so focused on projecting our bodies out into the world via social media and in New York specifically that we can lose sense of ourselves in the madness. It’s important to find ways to find a way to reintegrate with yourself in a way that heals you, as you were saying. It seems as if that visceral interaction with your body through art is a theme in your work. Do you consciously adhere to any uniting theme or underlying message in your work it or is each piece about something radically different?
MH | I wouldn’t say there’s a message to my work, no, but there’s a set of sensibilities. I can only make work from my own experience, related to my own personal history. While pieces may differ in their direct subject, they’re all filtered through my own language of symbols, and informed by everything that’s happened in my life leading up to the moment of their conception. There are definitely common threads throughout.
CT | It is really fascinating to go through your work and interpret the symbols and threads that weave through the different pieces and projects. As a product of what has been called the “Internet generation,” do you find that technology and the prominence of it in youth culture has inspired a new wave of art? How has technology influenced your work?
MH | Absolutely. Technology has made art making much more accessible, and gives a platform to those who might normally be swept under the rug and ignored by art institutions (which includes young people, but extends a lot further than that). I think the most obvious way technology, or the internet specifically, has influenced me is just by showing me what else is out there. It’s a great educational tool, and it’s allowed me to find and connect with other artists I would have never seen otherwise. I feel like a grandma sometimes, but I’m honestly just totally blown away that I can collaborate with people in different cities and time zones without ever leaving my apartment. It’s amazing.
CT | It really is. Technology has definitely redefined community and, through tumblr specifically, become a unifying force for people who don’t fit within the heteronormative status quo that dominates the world. Sometimes it seems as if New York is a bit like these social networks because of the incredible diversity that exists within such a concentrated space. With that in mind, do you find the art world and New York in general to be accepting of intersectionality in terms of race, class, and gender identity or is there still a lot of pushback?
MH | We still have a long way to go. In an industry and city that I think pats itself on the back a lot for it’s diversity, it’s important to look at whose stories are being told (or who’s getting solo shows). What we’re very slowly starting to see is some amount of representation, which can be very tempting to get excited about, but I think it’s important to realize that representation doesn’t necessarily equal support. The stories we’re hearing are very well curated.
“In an industry and city that I think pats itself on the back a lot for it’s diversity, it’s important to look at whose stories are being told…”
CT | I had never really thought about that as an outside viewer of art. As a consumer of art, I only know about what happens in the background if an article or an artist personally discusses it. The average viewer of art will see these curated works and not see the politics behind why those artists were chosen.
Switching topics, I want to discuss your current cultural influences. Movies and music are very potent sources of inspiration for me in my life. What have you been inspired by lately in terms of music and movies?
MH | I don’t know why, but this is kind of the hardest question! For music, beyon is always a huge inspiration. They’re also an amazing illustrator and animator, and my collaborator Leah & I were lucky enough to work with them on sound for our last big piece, which was a total dream. When I’m working I usually listen to old recordings of East Village Radio (RIP), or Dolly Parton, who should really be an inspiration to us all. For movies, it’s The Arrival, made in 1979 by the Unarius Academy of Science (Google them, you’ll lose a full day), Off Season by Claire Christerson (which I was lucky enough to have been a part of), things by historic queer directors like Jack Smith, Derek Jarman, John Waters. Mostly I just watch a lot of bad films though, I must have seen Troll 2 close to 30 times now.
CT | I actually had the chance to check out Off Season when it was at the SVA Mentors Gallery along with your work that was featured. It was phenomenal. I’ve attached it at the end of the interview if anyone is interested in checking it out. A lot of the other influences I am not familiar with so I’m going to have a lot of material to Google later. Moving now to fashion, it’s clear that you have a really radical personal style that clashes beautifully with the status quo of the “all-black everything” stereotype that’s typical of New York fashion. What inspires you?
MH | This is so funny, I wear all black all the time! There’s that famous Yohji Yamamoto quote, you know, that says “black is modest and arrogant at the same time, black is lazy and easy, but mysterious. . . [and] above all black says ‘I don’t bother you – you don’t bother me”, and that’s totally true. I definitely wear a lot of color, but when I just want to get through my day without being stopped on the street, I push my hair back into a hat and cloak myself in black. It’s protective, and it’s comforting to be totally anonymous in that way.
CT | It’s interesting that this all-black ensemble can become armor. Sometimes, you need to be able to slip into this anonymity to get some time to breathe–especially when you identify as queer or gender nonconforming. Existing in New York can become overwhelming but I think we are lucky to be able to hide within our fashion and blend in.
As a final (though terribly cliche) question, I want to discuss the identity of being a role model. Your bravery and unyielding commitment to making queer art is certainly inspiring to a lot of young people. To all the queer and gender nonconforming kids around the world who don’t have the freedom of expression we tend to have in the city and who might feel lost or confused about what they are going through, what would you tell them?
MH | I answer this question a lot, and I’m sure I sound terribly redundant because I say the same thing every time but that’s because I really can’t stress its importance enough. Just go online! It seems so simple, but that’s honestly your best resource. It’s incredibly validating to see other people like yourself existing and thriving, and a lot of the time that might not be possible where you’re growing up. It’s a temporary fix, but the internet can offer you a whole other community and support system that can be life saving.
Mars Hobrecker can be found on Instagram and on his website. He was recently featured on i-D Magazine as part of an expansive look at the radical queer community in New York.
The Underground 