For two decades now, the creative artist known as Marka27 has reminded us to be true to ourselves… no matter what. He has made his career on inventive art across multiple mediums that pulls from different concepts and approaches, creating his own unique brand of interactive and touching art.
For two decades now, the creative artist known as Marka27 has reminded us to be true to ourselves… no matter what. He has made his career on inventive art across multiple mediums that pulls from different concepts and approaches, creating his own unique brand of interactive and touching art.
This article was featured in RVAMag #26: Fall 2016. You can read all of issue #26 here or pick it up at local shops around RVA right now.
Marka27, real name Victor Quinonez, was born in Juarez, Mexico and grew up in rough area of East Dallas, where he established himself as a graffiti legend and learned to embrace his heritage and beliefs within his work. Since his beginnings in East Dallas, Marka27’s work has been a reflection of his Mexican-American heritage, the technology of modern life, and the spirituality that swirls around us all, with each coming together for a well-balanced depiction of his own genuine identity, one that has made the person and the artist inseparable.
Recently in town for the Richmond Mural Project, we caught up with the famed artisan and learned a bit more about his background, as well as the singular approach he brings to each of his creations.
What was it like growing up in East Dallas?
This was early ‘80s East Dallas. You can look up the records. Probably one of the worst neighborhoods in Dallas, especially where I was. At that time, there was a lot of gang culture, there was a lot of drugs, and there was a lot of violence. It was kind of crazy growing up in East Dallas.
Was gang culture a part of your life personally, or was that something you tried to avoid?
Unfortunately, I was caught up in that mess because of family. My brother was in a gang, and at that time I was probably 12 and he was 14. For a good five years, there was a lot of problems with gangs because of my older brother.
Is that how you got into graffiti? Was that a part of that?
You know it’s funny, I was never really into the gang part of graffiti and my brother did not contribute in any way to me getting into graffiti. By the time I got into graffiti, he had already been in and out of jail so much [that] I was more of the kid that wanted to skate and do the opposite of what my brother was doing. So you know, I hung out with cats that were skating around the neighborhood. You know, poor kids with shitty boards that were handed down to them. It wasn’t until ’93 that I first picked up a spray can and tried to write my name. [Laughs] I was terrible though. I did such a bad job.
What was your tag when you first started?
The very first thing I wrote was just my initials because I didn’t know you could have a cool name. Yeah, it was real bad. I didn’t know which dimensions on the letters should go or that you could have picked a cool name. I was influenced by seeing Beat Street and then the very first time I saw a book about it was Spraycan Art and Subway Art. And of course there was no internet, so you could find what you could find. We had very little influence back then.
After starting in graffiti work, how did you end up doing gallery work and fine art work?
Well, because I grew up in East Dallas, the local schools that I had to go to was called Woodrow Wilson and at the time, that school was terrible. Early ‘90s, they had metal detectors and they had to shake down the bushes before and during school because people would hide knives and weapons in the bushes since people couldn’t bring them into the school. That school was so shitty and bad that I auditioned for an art school in downtown Dallas called Booker T. Washington that was the complete opposite. It was kind of like that cheesy show Fame, if there could be a real school that was like that show because it was a performing and visual arts school. You had dance and theatre, you had visual art, and you had music. I got in because of my drawing abilities and that’s what really got me interested in fine art.
This presented the possibility that you could do fine art?
Yeah, definitely. We had great teachers that exposed me to Mexican artists that I hadn’t even heard about like [David Alfaro] Siqueiros or [José Clemente] Orozco. We had different people that would come visit the school and some were artists of color. I didn’t even realize [they existed] because when you study art history, most are from the Renaissance and they are European of some kind. So it was good being exposed to other cultural groups, and knowing that you could also be an artist that makes a living.
You have a lot of spiritual themes in your work. Where does that come from?
Originally, it’s funny because I have a painting I did a long time ago. It sold recently and it was called “Childhood Heroes.” The funny thing — about that painting of the Virgin Mary, Speedy Gonzalez, Mighty Mouse, and at the very bottom, Optimus Prime — it’s funny cause when you’re a child, you take stories very literally. So my mom would light the Virgin Mary candle while I sleep at night — because my mother is Catholic, my family is Catholic. [They] lit this candle at night and it would protect me while I sleep. Come Saturday morning, I’m watching these cartoons and I am literally thinking that Virgin Mary is protecting Optimus Prime and Mighty Mouse, because that’s what she’s supposed to do! I thought she was a hero like them. Megatron can’t get him because he’s protected. It was kind of silly when you think about it cause you’re so young, you take everything literally. It wasn’t until decades later that I thought about that memory and did a painting about it. So even the spiritual part of it has to do with my childhood, my upbringing, my culture.
How have your parents taken to your passion for art, being that much of it is inspired by your childhood?
Well, my mother and I are still really close. She’s still in Dallas. My father on the other hand got mixed up with drugs and violence, and ended up going to prison for quite some time and then sent back to Mexico. But my mother for sure. We see each other all the time. She comes up to visit me and my family and yeah, she’s extremely proud — she had no idea that I could make a living through art. I have a twin brother who is an interior designer and he’s almost exactly the way I am. He pretty much was self-taught and now he’s doing really well with his interior design.
Do you ever have any conflict with the corporate projects you do? Do they ask you to tone things down when you do work for them?
I don’t think so. Most corporations don’t even look at my work unless they are already into that sort of thing. For the most part, I don’t just focus on that. There is also a kind of indigenous textile “print and pattern” influence to my work and that’s where it’s easy to me collaborate with brands or other companies. There is definitely a less serious side to my work to where I can have more fun with it and be a bit more versatile. It has a lot more to do with print and pattern and textiles and stuff that I am highly influenced by through a lot of cultures that don’t necessarily have a narrative.
Your recent work has a focus on neo-indigenous. What does that mean to you?
Well, it’s not even that recent. I’ve always been into this neo-indigenous thing and for me, neo-indigenous basically means bringing back something that’s old and making it new. It’s interesting how if you look at some cultures that are thousands of years old, and you see the body jewelry, the painting, the tattoos, or markings, it actually looks very futuristic. We kind of look a little a bit boring compared to these cultures that were thousands of years old. Everything that they did was influenced by nature, or influenced by the solar system or the mountains. So you see the cultures that are in many ways more advanced than we are because they are more connected to the Earth. We are connected to devices. The neo-indigenous part of it is kind of reminding people that even though we are a generation stuck on technology, we still need to stay in touch with humanity and nature. There is definitely a tribal instinct within human beings and the artwork is a reminder of who we truly are. We are humans first and foremost before consumers and before all these things that society labels us to be. A lot of people are searching for that.
In the past, you have combined sound with your artwork. What is the “audio canvas” idea?
Actually, I have a solo show coming up in Boston and I will definitely have some “audio canvas” pieces in the show. The first one I did had J Dilla on it and it played his beats. That’s the reason I wanted to make it because each piece had a different artist in the beginning, so I did one of J Dilla, one of Nina Simone, one of Mos Def. From that point on, I just stopped doing musicians and started painting other things, but still incorporated audio.
Your most recent piece in Richmond has a central figure in it, but it looks like the audio is visualized in the piece. It feels like you have sound coming off of it in different ways.
Yeah, the speakers. She has speakers below her ears and right on her forehead, and the characters have these two big drums that are speakers as well.
So that’s a theme that has been going on with your work for a while?
Audio has always been a part of the work. Even if it’s not functioning, it’s represented somehow.
Getting to the Richmond Mural Project, what was the thinking behind the mural?
First of all, the wall was huge so I had to really think, “What are you going to paint on a wall so wide?” It needs to {be} something bold and impactful, so my thinking behind it was to paint something that represents me as an artist, but also some of the things I feel are relevant right now. So painting a large, impactful, beautiful, black female on a wall changes the conversation from people getting shot for no good reason. It added value to ethnicity versus demonizing it. Just remind people that this is a beautiful culture that shouldn’t be eradicated. It should understood and be cherished.
Is there a title to the piece?
Yes, the title is “Givers Of Divine Sound’.
An acronym for G.O.D.S?
Yes.
Do you feel any pressure from doing murals?
The only pressure is when the weather is working against you. There were two storms starting at the Richmond Mural Project and it was constantly over 95 degrees every day. That’s the only pressure I feel. If the weather was perfect, then the work would have been even better. There could have been more that went into it. I feel like every artist did the best that they could considering all the obstacles. But it was definitely worth it.
What do you have coming up?
Right now, a new body of work for a show in Boston titled “Retro Native” so it’s basically native influences with pop culture undertones. It will be an interesting mix of what I have been doing on the street, but mixing it with my childhood growing up and different thing from Saturday Morning Cartoons and hip hop culture.
