Mark Norris | Paintings | About | Contact |
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Biography
Mark Norris b. 1955 Education: The Ringling School of Art – 1976-77 M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts – 1979-83
“Road To Vegas” An ennui ridden couple in Los Angeles decide to re-enact ‘Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas’. They faithfully round up the drugs necessary for verisimilitude, and hit the road. Chaos, hilarity, and nastiness occur as this drug fueled adventure miraculously stumbles into Las Vegas, and then makes it back home with boredom conquered. Mature audiences. 35 minutes. 1994. Available on DVD. “Group Show” Recently graduated art students scheme and scam to be involved in a major museum group show being curated by one of their teachers from school. Mediocrity and glad-handing are rewarded; commitment to work and vision are shown the door. Packed with the bemused realism of an insider’s view of the Art World, the film is still a relevant primer for contemporary art satire. Mature audiences. 90 minutes. 1996. Available on DVD. “The Great Plateau” After his bluegrass band breaks up, Keith Sizemore returns to Central California where he and his failing author wife, Molly, hit the downward spiral. Buffeted by the forces of fate and unemployment, they attempt everything from alcoholism, adultery, and then religion to stop their slide into homelessness. Propelled by the authentic bluegrass sounds of The Jimmie Blankenship Ramblers (Brantley Kearns, Cliff Wagner) this film hits all of the highs and lows necessary to reveal that the darkest hour is, indeed, just before the dawn. Mature audiences. 90 minutes. 2004. Available on DVD.
A documentary of exceptionally poor taste based on Werner Hertzog’s ‘Grizzly Man’. This story follows ravaged grizzly bear enthusiast, Timothy Treadwell’s brother, Tommy Treadwell as he pursues the rare and vicious Caninius Mojavius. From his self-made videos we learn the fate of the ‘lesser known, but better looking’ Tom Treadwell as he scours the Mojave desert in search of knowledge about the little known dog/bear for conservation purposes. But like most Quixotic quests bigger questions about the character’s motives arise in the aftermath of a tragic mauling. Not for the weak of heart. Mature audiences. 12:06 minutes. 2007. View at YouTube or SuperDeluxe.
George Bailey of the timeless Christmas classic, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ has a deadly encounter with Anton Chigurh from Cormac McCarthy’s ‘No Country For Old Men’. Bitterness about the banking business, oddly enough, and violence ensue. Mature audiences. 6:34 minutes. 2008. View at YouTube or SuperDeluxe. Novels
Having just survived his girlfriend’s suicide, a young painter leaves the provincial post-hippie world of Albuquerque for California Contemporary Arts in Valencia. Here he crosses paths with a fellow suicide survivor who is enrolled in the film program. Her Nico-esque personae and his small town background make for an exceptionally dark and erotically invested romance that drains them both to the point of no return. Interspersed with their adventures and coupling is a strongly satirical vision of contemporary art and art schools. Known for its poetic presentation, this is a must read for any potential art student or person on the verge of entering an ill-advised sexual relationship. Mature readers. 301 pages. Available in paperback through Xlibris.com.
In this dueling two novel sensation a low-end sci-fi tale about navigating the future work place, and failing that, debtor’s prison camp follows the lead of a present day office horror story. A depressed ad writer for a weekly paper in Los Angeles watches his hopes for a meager life erode away under the bristling greed of incompetent and clueless management. As a catharsis, he writes a novel that follows his own life very closely, but is set four years in the future where everyone works for commission only. Anyone in debt, caught with intoxicants, or who becomes sick falls into the black hole of work camps for the poor, or hospital prisons where self-surgery is the only help available. The camps are massive subsidiaries of the major fast food industries, and prisoners spend their days working giant hog nut grinding machines and curly fries mixers at a pay rate that is guaranteed to keep them inside for years. The one way out of these massive fast food factories? Distinguish yourself as a soldier in the combat of the culture wars. And our hero, Ralph Pearcy, attempts to do just that. Mature readers. 198 pages. Available in paperback through Xlibris.com.
1967-2067: Ride the hundred-year downfall of civilization driven by marketing, greed and a massively overpopulated planet of ignorance to an event that finally snaps even The Lord’s limitless patience. Narrated in part by Jesus Himself, as He anticipates His imminent return and speaks of His methods and motivations. From the heady days of The Summer of Love to the final days on earth, revel in the amazing progress of the super duper modern world (think: tethered Helium Lofts in San Francisco, DNA logo birthmarks for sale, and government forklifts dumping mounds of Freedom Jerky in the dirt streets of America’s slums) before Armageddon busts loose like a hideously drunken party guest with irritable bowel syndrome. Whoa daddy! A must read for those who want be on the ‘right side’ when the deal goes down. Mature readers. 308 pages. Available in paperback through Xlibris.com.
Contains small bits to full-scale stories and screenplays all stuffed into one giant suitcase. The view backwards and forward 20 years after leaving art school; Guys With Guns; Mark and Peter’s wild ride from Indianapolis to Los Angeles; New York to LA road trip in the year 2001 before the towers went down; The Un-Produced X-Files scripts; and then some. Great airline reading. It is guaranteed to eliminate unwanted conversation with the fellow traveler sitting next to you! Mature readers. 385 pages. Available in paperback through Xlibris.com Poetry “A Very Windy Day” A collection of poems by Everett E. Daudet. Includes ‘Withered’, ‘Holiday On The Sound’, and ‘Encore, Encore’. All ages. 20 pages. Available through MPress. |