Waste not want not

21 questions for artist Marcus Kenney

Self-taught artist Marcus Kenney never met a Dumpster he didn’t like. Kenney combines other people’s trash — cigar wrappers, canceled checks, paint-by-number canvases, wallpaper — into smart collages that critique an America founded on stuff. His cerebral decoupage is on view at Marcia Wood Gallery.

Age:
31. Two children, 4 and 2.

Neighborhood:
Savannah.

Education:
Masters in photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and an undergraduate degree in television and film from the University of Louisiana.

When you discovered you were an artist:
It was always there. I used to obsessively draw as a child.

Birthplace:
A tiny rural community called Cooters Point, La. I went to the same school for K-12.

Where do you find your materials?
Everywhere from Auto Zone to Dumpsters. It’s hard to pass up a Dumpster without stopping.

What would you compare your work to?
The 6 o’clock news.

Favorite artist:
Van Gogh.

Alternative career:
I’d be a gardener.

Favorite director:
I’ve always loved Fellini.

What’s it all about?
In a way, I feel like a historian or a reporter, documenting these times. As an artist, it’s part of my job to preserve American culture.

Biggest complaint with the arts:
Too many artists. Too many galleries, too many magazines. It’s hard for an artist to develop a whole body of work when they’re trying to keep up with other artists, keep up with these trends.

Artists in the family:
My grandmother was probably my first inspiration. She’s a trip. She would take birthday or Christmas cards or photographs and cut them up ... she’d make these little collages. And one time I saw her out in the yard spray-painting a bush with silver paint. She lived very creatively.

Favorite historical figure:
Abraham Lincoln. But I like him more for the way he looks.

Music you’re listening to:
I’m a big vinyl collector. Modest Mouse.

Studio:
1,500-square-feet in a Victorian house.

What would you do with $100,000?
[Repay] student loans. Why would you give an artist a student loan? I don’t even feel bad that I’m not able to pay them off, because they should have known better.

Favorite artwork:
You’re talking about a person who eats at buffets because I can’t make a decision.

One thing you couldn’t live without:
I’d hope that I could live without anything. At this point, probably the wife and kids.

If you were Miss America, what would your platform be?
Probably race relations. To me, that’s the biggest problem in our country.

Describe your work in one word.
Some people say “nostalgia,” and that’s not what I’m going for. I think I’m trying to represent the state of the world right now. Everybody’s really confused, and there’s so much fear and anxiety and chaos.

-- Felicia Feaster

‘’Works by Marcus Kenney??
through Aug. 14 at Marcia Wood Gallery, 263 Walker St. 404-827-0030. www.marciawoodgallery.com.

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