Mark Mothersbaugh, yeah that Mark Mothersbaugh, the one who has spread his seed all over pop music [as a member of Devo], television [as the composer of Rugrats], and indie-cum-big-Hollywood movies [as Wes Anderson go to guy], is also an extremely prolific visual artist.

I was first made aware of his visual styles when I saw a wild piece of his in Ghettogloss’ debut rentals catalogue in 2005. Here it is:

This glow in the dark screen print blew me away. I later learned, as my friend Ryan DiDonato started designing/laying out his upcoming book ‘Beautfiul Mutants,’ that Mothersbaugh worked in two main styles: postcards [as above] and symmetrical portraits [or Daguerrotypes].

Mothersbaugh has augmented portrait photography to create symmetrical images that are supposed to induce the viewer to project his or her own psychology onto the image [think Rorschach].

These symmetrical photos are coming to Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center tomorrow [Saturday] night, and Mothersbaugh will be there signing copies of the new book.

Quoth the artist:

‘These images were my personal favorites from over 3000 different tests created between 1999 and 2007 from original image sources that included personal photography, old photo booth strips, and daguerreotypes and ambrotypes obtained from a wide variety of sources including research facilities, antique shops located around the world, and online auction sites.’

If you, like me, cannot attend this Saturday, Mothersbaugh will also be displaying Postcard Diary Rugs this November 10th at Scion Space in Culver City.