Mothersbaugh, well-known as a member of the band DEVO, will be interviewed on stage by Jon Jicha, Professor of Art, of the School of Art and Design.

While touring with DEVO, it was not uncommon for Mothersbaugh to lightly “correct” or add onto the bland paintings and prints that adorned the many hundreds of otherwise unmemorable hotel rooms that he occupied for one night at a time. Using a van, bus, hotel room, airplane, or any space as his workspace, he has created over 40,000 drawings which serve as the beginning of an idea that will emerge in his larger projects.

His artistic journey, however, goes well beyond DEVO; Mothersbaugh is a Conceptualist and began creating work in the late ‘60s. He has created tens of thousands of works in various mediums including rubber stamp designs, mail art, decals, prints, ink illustrations, oil paintings, ceramic sculptures, manipulated photographs, video, film compositions, sonic sculptures, rugs, screensavers and the list continues. He has created many Hollywood compositions, from serving as Wes Anderson’s composer, to writing a variety of famous theme songs, like the well-known opening to Rugrats. 

Mothersbaugh views much of his work as experiments in “beatnik-stream of consciousness” poetry, which to him, is related to speaking in tongues; the surrendering of the intellect to the primordial, or science vs. faith. An observer among us, Mothersbaugh writes down things that he overhears throughout the day… people at another table, a voice on the radio, pieces of verbal fabric that drift and weave and create the poetry of life, the flotsam and jetsam that swirl around us and fill our subconscious with scraps of what it is to be, according to Mothersbaugh, a “thinking ape.”

On Friday, Aug. 24, the day before the event, Mothersbaugh will work with students and faculty from the WCU School of Art and Design to create a large format print series — print size, 4 feet by 6 feet each. This will be an all-day experience and the finished pieces will be on view in Bardo Arts Center Gallery 130 before “Mark Mothersbaugh Talks” on Saturday, Aug. 25.

Tickets to “Mark Mothersbaugh Talks” at Bardo Arts Center are $15 for adults and $10 for seniors 65+. The event is free for any student and is also a free event for WCU faculty/staff with their catcard at the door. Learn more at arts.wcu.edu/marktalks.