MAR may be Spanish for the ‘sea’ but lucky for Desert Trip festival-goers, Los Angeles-based artist Spencer “MAR” Guilburt will bring his unique artistic talents to the desert Oct. 8-9 at the BMW Performance Center in Thermal.
A weekend of fast cars and legendary rock music will transform the performance center into a creative, energetic, and interactive BMW Fly + Drive experience.
• See related story on the event: Rock Stars and Fast Cars
MAR, a native of Santa Monica, will integrate art with fast cars as he completes painting abstract art onto the next BMW Art Car. The Urban Art Group will also unveil photos featuring performers from Desert Trip by Iconic Images photographer Terry O’Neill.
MAR recently spoke about his art and what attendees can expect to see.
How would you describe your art? What feelings are you trying to evoke?
MAR: I think that in my art, I am trying to refrain because art got super literal. I’m trying to be not so super literal with my message.
Here is a mockup of the artwork MAR will apply to a BMW car.
It’s about more of a dialogue with the viewer, and about kind of requiring a little bit of work on the viewer’s part that makes them kind of taking the image and seeing what it means to them and then have the picture. Essentially, by someone viewing the art brings it alive. That’s something I feel that words and literal art don’t allow for. They just give an instant feeling that the artist wants, and it’s very literal and superficial. I want something that is a little more intrinsic and deep that has to be brought out with your own thinking and toiling with it.
Have you always been doing this type of art, or has it transformed over the years?
MAR: It’s something that, growing up in a time when branding and logos were so prominent, especially growing up in L.A., I think you just want to brand the world with your own stamp after awhile. It means something; you’re used to seeing it out in the world. You want to go put your stuff out there so you can have it mean something also. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s just being inundated with so much stuff that finally the answer is to go and make your own.
Who will we see as part of your collaboration with Terry O’Neill on one-of-a-kind art pieces at the event?
MAR: Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Faye Dunaway, sitting in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel pool. Faye Dunaway is one of Terry’s ex-wives. Terry’s that big of a deal. He did photos of people that he didn’t just hire; they were just his friends. Truly cool. We’ll just be painting on more of those. Everyone that’s performing, for the most part he has photos of all of them, so we’re going to be doing that. There’ll be new photos of Mick and The Who and whoever else.
Actress Faye Dunaway appears in this collaborative piece between “MAR” and photographer Terry O’Neill.
BMW Performance Center x Mar Fly + Drive Experience, Oct. 8-9. BMW Performance Center West, Thermal. 888-345-4269; www.bmwpcxmar.com
Share your experience on Twitter and Instagram with the official hashtags: #BMWPCxMAR and #thismeansmar.