Mark Brabant: 21st Century Digital Renaissance Man

Westside printmaker / digital artist Mark Brabant creates ethereal prints inspired by stark Midwestern landscapes, odd situational moments and alleged alien invasions. He was born and raised in Ohio, attended Bowling Green and graduated with a concentration in graphic arts in the 1980s; relocated back to the Cleveland area upon completion of his studies. As a graphic designer by day, he wanted to start using his digital medium to create works that reflected some of his interests and imagination.

"Before designing my first screen print, I had been a making a living as a graphic designer for almost 20 years," said Brabant, in a recent interview with Cool Cleveland. "During the last 5 of those years, I had struggled with finding an alternative creative outlet. I really wanted to, somehow channel my interest in UFOs and other 'fringe' topics into art, but couldn't seem to find the proper medium. Then I stumbled upon the online world of screen printed art. This seemed like the ideal way to communicate the type of imagery that was floating around in my head that didn't have an exit strategy. So, I started experimenting with a few different visual themes that I thought would make for compelling prints."

Brabant collages his print work from imagery he takes with his own digital camera -- various shots of vast sky, gnarled trees and intrusive nature interacting with modern society. The artist creates the composition entirely on his computer from this imagery. How is this different from creating commercial work for clients?

"It was a very different and enlightening creative process for me," Brabant clarified. "I was so used to designing things that were intended to sell other people's products or services. Creating 'fine art' is a soul bearing thing. You find you are digging into your own self-conscience and it can be quite a jarring thing when you're not used to doing that as part of a creative process.

"I had become comfortable working in a totally different way when it came to client-driven graphic design," he added. "After all, the client had the final say as to whether or not the design was 'good'. With fine art, it's all on you and there aren't any deadlines to serve as a bailout."

Brabant sends his completed files to a company in Oregon who inexpensively reproduces his work and sends him the finished works. With the Internet at his disposal, Brabant has not pursued any real gallery representation, does not participate in many local exhibition and mainly relies on a few art websites dedicated to distributing artwork without a physcial middleman. His main success came from the site Expresso Beans, but he has been able to collect enough emails and buyers via online sales to sell most of his work on email blasts announcing his new print release available on his own website HoveringObject.

To receive these emails, one must sign up at the website and when the artist has released his work for purchase, you will be notified in your inbox. Although a very cool Cleveland artist, he does not push his work to local outlets very often, only to his mailing list and to fans who find his work celebrated on artist buying networks, on line or through weblogs. Brabant's work has such a alien invasion theme with uneasy, emotive quality infused into a basic midwestern background illustration in an untold story that creates an uncertain moment in a narrative.

Are these illustrated short stories completely visual, or is the title needed to explain or tease the viewer into what the work may address?

"The other integral part of a typical graphic design project, is type or words." said Brabant. "Designing imagery without that element was foreign to me and it was an unexpected challenge to feel comfortable without it. That's probably why I felt it necessary to include the actual title at the bottom of my first few prints. I'm slowly getting used to the idea that no type is OK."

As a cool Cleveland artist, Mark currently lives and works out of his westside home studio. "Cleveland is cool, to me," he offered. "I love living and working in the region. It's affordable to live comfortably, raise a family and still product work. The growing up in and currently living within a midwestern background has set the visual stage that inspires many of my pieces."

Need to see more of Mark's imagination? Look no further than Brabant's website, HoveringObject and put yourself on the mailing list for the unexpected to arrive in your inbox.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Bridget Ginley tegdirb1017ATgmail.com

Ginley hosts the "Erie Effusion" radio program on WRUW 91.1-FM and is a well-established Cleveland artist. You can find her online at http://erieeffusion.blogspot.com and http://www.bridgetginley.com.

A note from the author: This year, a goal of mine is to use my writing to promote positive attributes of our region. In speaking with many other visual artists -- all lamenting on the state of press swirling down the bowl -- I began thinking about what would be beneficial to an (artist) individual in terms of visual art? Where can our region grow in that regard? How can we help make this happen as sculptors, crafters or filmmakers? And how cool is Cleveland for an artist? I have hunted down a few of Cleveland's active visual artists in an effort to find out how they see themselves in our regional landscape and look forward to introducing you to some of these artists working in your community during the coming weeks and months. My intention is to bring the artist in their studio directly to you. -- Bridget Ginley (:divend:)