We were lucky to catch up with Marcus Shadden recently and have shared our conversation below.

Marcus, appreciate you joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I’ve noticed in all different facets of life people tend to quickly label and try to identify who you are, not just as a artist, but as a “person.” The word person comes from Latin, Persona, it means your public face or a character played; a mask. When we as artists take on a role, ( I call it a Box) meaning a framework in which we see ourselves through the eyes of “others,” we limit our creativity; we’re narrow. I believe that we start creating through that framework, and before you know it we are creating for “others,” *ie whats popular, what hook will blow, what type of painting would sell ect. Thats not art..thats craft and trade. Art is a process, allowing oneself to empty thy self, through any medium, so that they (the artist) can be in the most beautiful place in the world; now. When we are NOW, ( or you could call it Love,) art is about the process of that energy coming through the Human like a conduit of universal expression. Therefore today I may paint abstract, tomorrow I might Rap a Punk Song, either way I can never fit in a box.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi friends, I go by Marcus The Artist and I do a little bit of everything=] My Mom gave me the nickname years ago because ever since I was a kid I’d always be doing something creative, I wasnt able to sit still and had a need to find ways to express all of this energy coming out of me. Movement started it all. Before sketching I was dancing, then I found art, and skateboarding, and Punk culture and then… I found the Underground Hip-Hop and the Rave Scene. This trifecta of influences to pull from have been the building blocks for who I am now as Dj, Producer, Dancer and an Artist. Currently I am working on music projects ranging from; Creating songs/albums for vocalists, Commercial work such as horror film scores, Video Game soundtracks, and my personal music as a DJ/Producer/Alter Ego (Hip-Hop/Electronic/Drum n Bass/House/Punk/Other.) The kinds of problems I am solving for clients right now are typically about how to create a certain sound, or feel.. whether that be for film and/or singer song writers; I usually guide them out of that wanting and into their own vibe,and ask, how do we bring that uniqueness out of you and your project? My goal for my art is always to be new, not “better” but different, and I will challenge every client to do the same. It’s not a competition. There is no such thing as the “best” or the “worse,”and if we release ourselves from these bondage’s then we can create freely.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This is an interesting question. How can society support it’s artists better? On the one hand society has made art popular and therefore art is needed in the world, right? That leads to more people buying art, and then in turn more people making art so that more people can buy art. Art for everyone! On the other hand the art world has been high jacked by a bunch of non-artists and they control a huge part of the art game. (If you haven’t already looked into that area, please do so, it’s very fascinating how its so controlled.) So this has become the art culture in our society. So can this society help me as the artist? If my goal is money from craft, yes. But there are caveats. If my goal is art…probably not. Why? Because society doesn’t really support true artists speaking from their center; it wants creative robots. Make this art, not that art. Speak up, but not too loud. If you want to make money there are lots of ways to do it, lot’s of paths to follow. But if you wanna make art there is only one path and it leads to your true self.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

“Hey girl whats up? Wanna come in my luxury man pad with nothing on the walls and nothing in the fridge, but check out my phone..look at these fire NFTs! ”

This is how I imagine the world of NFTs is like.

In the future some sort of catastrophe will wipe out the grid and we will lose all of our data. Or it’ll get hacked before then.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: marcustheartist

Image Credits
Tori “Torsion” Howard