Mark Mothersbaugh

Mark Mothersbaugh: It's a Beautiful World is the first comprehensive publication of the visual art of Mothersbaugh. Mark Mothersbaugh, co-founder of the New Wave band Devo, is a legendary figure for fans of both street art and music culture. He has been a practicing visual artist since the early 1970s, while also working as a musician, composer and singer. His work in the early 1970s included collage, rubber stamp designs, screen prints, decal and mail art. With Devo, Mothersbaugh worked collaboratively with his band-mates to establish a comprehensive visual language that included films, videos, costumes, LP covers, stage shows, publicity and other materials. His visual art during and after Devo expanded to include postcard drawings, paintings, photography and sculpture. He has exhibited widely since the late 1980s showing work in Indie galleries, magazines and art fairs. As an award winning composer, his credits include Moonrise Kingdom, 21 Jump Street, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, Pee Wee's Playhouse and the hugely successful Rugrats television, stage and film franchise. In addition to hundreds of illustrations of the artist's work, the book includes a foreword by Wes Anderson, an introduction by Adam Lerner, an extensive interview with the artist and essays by Mothersbaugh experts Shepard Fairey and Steven Wolf and punk scholars Maria Elena Buszek and Cary Levine. Mothersbaugh is also drawing artist pages specifically for this publication. Though Mothersbaugh is a widely known figure among older and younger generations, this book defines for the first time his overarching artistic contribution to the history of contemporary culture. The book connects his work with the popular New Wave band Devo to his large body of visual art, contextualising all of the above in the legacy of the counterculture, punk rock and pop art.