MINDRAPE... It’s what’s for lunch.
Interview with amazing artist and former inmate Mark Cooper

By The Grin Creeper

Girls and Corpses: At what tender age did you begin to illustrate the tortuous callings of your dark soul? And did your parents try to seek professional help for you?

Mark Cooper: One time I drew a picture of my mom’s severed head in a pizza box and hung it on the refrigerator. She didn’t like that too much (laughs). They tried to keep me from listening to metal but it obviously didn’t work.

G&C: Are there bodies buried in your backyard? And if not, what is that smell?

MC: Well, I pretty much try to keep my ideas on paper for the time being. However, I’d imagine that in some parallel dimension I probably have bodies piled on top of each other out in the open. As for the smell, you’re probably smelling me. I haven’t bathed in a while because I’ve been busy working on my art.

G&C: What kinds of obstacles have you faced by letting your brain run wild and not censoring yourself? Have you ever been censored? Where do you think you crossed the line? And is there a line for you?

MC: There’s a lot I could do that would probably offend many people, but I’m not really interested in shocking folks. Besides, something that one person would consider sick would just make me laugh. I try to avoid anything to do with children but if someone like Bill Gates asked me to paint a pile of dead babies for his dining room, I’d probably do it for the money. I also spent the better part of seven years in prison. If that’s not censorship then I don’t know what is!

G&C: You were in prison for seven years for what? And which prison?

MC: Yeah, I went to prison for cutting up a security guard while shoplifting. I was in Florida State Prison for three years and then Sumter County Correctional for three… spent my last year on work release. Fun stuff.

G&C: What was life like in prison? Were you able to continue painting? Did you ever do body paint on your cellmate...?

To read the rest of this interview and see Mark Coopser ultra violent/beautiful artwork, order our summer issue now !