Film Composer Mark Mothersbaugh Book Release at MOCA

Sandra Miska

The worlds of art, music and literature will collide this fall when Mark Mothersbaugh releases “Myopia,” his first book of art. Well known as the cofounder of the new wave band Devo, Mothersbaugh is also a prolific composer for film and television projects. “Myopia” is a comprehensive art book featuring a lifetime of Mothersbaugh’s work, including postcards, screen prints, Devo artwork, paintings, photographs, sculptures and even rugs. The music veteran will discuss and sign copies of his book at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in downtown L.A. on October 2.

“Beautiful mutants, dough-faced sculptures, mysterious manifestos, 30,000 handmade postcards, such is the strange and wondrous world of celebrated artist Mark Mothersbaugh,” touts the official press release for “Myopia.” “Mothersbaugh moves seamlessly between mediums, creating bold, surrealist works that playfully explore the relationship between technology and individuality.” The book was edited by Adam Lerner, the current director and chief animator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver. The release of “Myopia” will coincide with a major six-city traveling exhibition of Mothersbaugh’s work, which will open in Denver on October 31.

Mothersbaugh was an art student at Kent State University when he met future Devo members Jerry Casale and Bob Lewis. The trio formed Devo in 1972 and became best known for their hit song “Whip It.” When the band went on hiatus in the early ’90s, Mothersbaugh turned his focus to composing for film and television. This second career turned out to be wildly successful, spawning memorable music for the Wes Anderson films Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Anderson and Mothersbaugh had worked more closely together than most director/composer teams, as Mothersbaugh would get involved in the very early stages of preproduction, especially on The Life Aquatic. “[Anderson] sat in the studio with me and would be writing the script,” recalled Mothersbaugh to Splitsider, “and he’d say, ‘You know, I’m thinking about putting a composer on the boat with everybody. What kind of equipment would he be using? What kind of keyboards and recording equipment would he be using?’” Now good friends, Anderson wrote an admirable foreword for Mothersbaugh’s book.

Mothersbaugh’s more recent work includes the score for The Lego Movie and producing its incredibly catchy theme song “Everything Is Awesome!!!” His work in television can be found on notable kid shows like “Rugrats,” “Beakman’s World,” “Felix the Cat” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” as well as the first season of the hit HBO series “Big Love.” The new book “Myopia” includes an extensive interview with Mothersbaugh and essays by Street Artist Shepard Fairey, Writer/Art Dealer Steven Wolf and Punk Scholars Maria Elena Buszek and Cary Levine.

Mark Mothersbaugh’s art talk and book signing will take place on October 2 at 7 p.m. at MOCA.