Mark
Vargo
Contemporary Artist
Mark Vargo (Colusa, CA) received his BFA at the University of Illinois and has shown his work in museums and galleries across North America. His art and writing on the topic of collage has also been published in Kolaj Magazine and published in a zine by Kasini House.
Mark’s current body of work seeks to push the bounds of traditional paper collage, by combining analog methods of collage with unexpected materials and new technology, such as 3-D printing and artificial intelligence. He defines his approach to creating as “Third Era Art”—a hybrid method of art-making that blends the use of traditional, digital, and AI-generated materials.
Mark is also a recent grant recipient through the Upstate California Creative Corps and currently working to design and install collage-based public sculptures at each of the seven branches of the Colusa County Free Library to bring awareness to Colusa County’s endangered and threatened wildlife species.
“Master your craft and then push your work into unknown directions.”
Mark Vargo
History
I fell in love with the artform of collage from a young age, exploring collage as a child, inspired by illustrations in books such as “The Stinky Cheese Man.” In college, I developed my artistic skillset and philosophy. I also learned how to use collage as a medium to express abstract concepts. I felt myself thriving in this frame of making and have spent the past 15 plus years making collage-based artwork.
Over the years I have felt the desire to push my craft further and explore. I began adding in new materials to my collage work and exploring new technologies as they arose.
At the beginning of the “AI Revolution,” I began to explore ways to incorporate artificial intelligence into my work. I took a decidedly neutral stance on the technology, seeing it as a potentially useful tool that should be used in ethical and empowering ways.
My Process
My process begins much like any other artist, I start with concepts, abstract or concrete. ideas for my artwork are found and collected throughout my life. I may get an idea while going on a walk with my kids, visiting a new gallery, or spending focused time on developing artwork concepts. Ideas are found everywhere.
I then collect materials. This may look like the hundreds of books, paper scraps, and other ephemera in my collection or the thousands of images I can quickly generate using AI tools.
I then curate my materials in digital or physical formats to match my concepts, creating my final artwork. I love the juxtaposition of different, disparate materials and concepts to create my work - reflecting the jumbled collage of life itself.
What’s Next
I am currently working on a few exciting new projects, looking for new opportunities with the Artremains Collective, an interactional group of ai-adjacent artists, and pursuing new grants for public sculptures. I am also at the beginning stages of working on a book on the topic of third era art, with the goal of defining the genre, providing insight into the methodoligies of the art practice, and creating a manifesto for artists working within the genre.
Look for new work shared here and on instagram at @vargocollage and @preservationstations.
Preservation Stations: Windows Into Our Wildlife
Preservation Stations: Windows Into Our Wildlife is a public art project created by Mark Vargo in 2023-2024 in partnership with the Colusa County Free Libraries. During this year-long grant period, seven permanent publicly accessible interactive collage-based sculptures were installed across the county - one at each branch of the library. Several free community collage workshops were also held to bring even more awareness to native species in Colusa County and give individuals from all age groups an opportunity to create their own collage artwork.
Each sculpture contains artwork featuring a local native endangered or threatened wildlife species and aims to bring awareness to our local ecosystem and the impact our community has on protecting and celebrating the incredible natural resources of Colusa County, California.
Each sculpture contains a three-layered image of the animal. One layer is made from historic images of the local area and represents the natural history of the species in the county and celebrates our past. The next layer represents our community today, and calls us to action in protecting and enjoying the unique ecosystem of Colusa. The final layer contains painterly, colorful images that represent a bright future for each threatened species and our whole state.
Explore the seven sculptures below or go check them out in person around Colusa,
This artwork is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, through the Upstate California Creative Corps program.
Colusa, California Main Branch Library
Chinook Salmon
Williams, California Branch Library
Tricolored Blackbird
Grimes, California Branch Library
Swainson’s Hawk
princeton, California Branch Library
Yellow Billed Cuckoo
arbuckle, California Branch Library
California Tiger Salamander
Maxwell, California Branch Library
Monarch Butterfly
stonyford, California Branch Library
Western Spadefoot Toad
Artist CV
S O L O E X H I B I T S
EVERYTHING FAMILIAR TO BE FOUND
Solo show featuring over 50 collage-based pieces of artwork including interactive sculpture and 2D work. Work included collage containing AI-generated elements as well as traditional paper. Hosted and led community collage workshops as part of exhibit in SPRING 2024.
Colusa County Arts Council - Colusa, California - March-April 2024
M E M B E R S H I P S
ArtRemains Collective
We built this collective to ask and to answer questions about art in the age of Ai image
generating technology. Together we are finding our footing in the ever-shifting landscape
of the Ai art culture war. United by our sincere excitement about the evolution of arts,
striving towards a future where artists are free to use all available tools to explore and
communicate our truths through unhindered artistic expressions. Four contemporary
artist have come together in a range of media, from oil painting, sculpture, collage,
augmented reality (AR), and multimedia instillation, to create an exhibition celebrating our
curiosity and the harmonious marriage of the past and future of visual art making.
International - 2024
G R A N T S
PRESERVATION STATIONS
Grant awarded in 2023 to produce seven public, interactive, collage-based sculptures to be publicly installed in front of all seven county library branches in rural Colusa County, California to promote awareness of local endangered and threatened wildlife. Hosted and led community collage workshops as part of grant in October and November 2023.
Upstate California Creative Corps, California Arts Council - 2023-2024
FACET AI ARTISTS GRANT
Grant awarded in 2023 to test new AI tools and produce a small body of artwork using generative AI tools and traditional media. Work displayed digitally on web and social media.
Facet AI - 2023
P U B L I S H E D W O R K
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A NEW TOOL FOR COLLAGE ARTISTS
Article written on the topic of artificial intelligence and the potential for generative AI tools in the field of collage-related artwork.
Article, Kolaj Magazine, Issue #37
2023
IDENTIBLOCKS: PORTRAIT #001
Short zine written about interactive collage-based sculpture project presented at Kolaj Live Knoxville. Published by Kasini House Publishing.
Zine, Kasini House Publishing
2022
S E L E C T G R O U P E X H I B I T S
PROVOCATION IDEAS FESTIVAL
Generative collage-like images created with a custom trained AI model were shown in locations around Toronto, including public libraries and public nighttime projections.
Various Locations, Toronto, Canada
2023
PRESENTER, ARTIST - KOLAJ LIVE, KNOXVILLE
Presenting artist, including short PowerPoint presentation and sculpture interactions with participants.
Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, Tennessee
2021
53RD ANNUAL JURIED COMPETITION
Exhibiting artist
Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana
2016
LOUISIANA CONTEMPORARY Exhibiting artist
Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
2015
LOVE LOCAL ART
Exhibiting artist
LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge,Louisiana
2014
ART MELT
Awarded Honorable Mention, 2016
Exhibiting artist
Capitol Park Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2014, 2015, 2016
PROSPECT.3
Exhibiting artist
Elevator Projects, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2014
20X20X20
Exhibiting artist
Union Art Gallery, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2014
GROUP SHOW
Exhibiting artist
Artmosphere, Lafayette, Louisiana
2015
GUITARMANIA
Exhibiting artist, public sculpture
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, Ohio
2012-2013
