Mark Flood, Member of the Establishment

Robert Boyd

When you get interviewed by the New York Times, that makes you a member of the Establishment, right?


photo of Mark Flood by Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

Here are a couple of choice quotes--but read the whole thing.

 [Flood on non-profit art spaces]
I hate parasitical art bureaucracies. I hate nonprofit organizations. I love willful rich people who are obsessed with art. The context always determines the meaning of a work of art.
 [Flood on critics/curators (I think)]
Q. How did those lace paintings change your career? A. My life changed dramatically. I no longer needed some art professional standing there saying, “This is good because of Jasper Johns, because of Duchamp,” because someone was coming up to me saying: “That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Here’s $5,000.” And then I quit my job.["No ‘Sacred Monster,’ Just a His-Way Artist," Randy Kennedy, The New York Times, July 6, 2012]

In honor of Flood's anointment by the Gray Lady, here is a photo of me licking one of his lace paintings.