by Mike Bandy

Last time, on Work of Art: The Next Great Artist, Mark, the "fry cook by day, photographer by night" from Santa Maria, CA, was eliminated. His team effort with Peregrine "Heaven and Hell" was deemed too literal by the judges, who felt that Peregrine's piece was stronger, allowing her to stay in the competition. We caught up with Mark to talk about his elimination, his thoughts on his competitors, and what's coming up next for him.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: What made you try out for Work of Art?
A. Mark: I was on a cross country trip, and I went to 40 states in 33 days. Upon visiting a good friend in NY, who is now my business partner, he told me that he saw this thing online and said that I had to try out for it. I was against it at first, but on a dare, I went to LA and stood in line, and made it through to the next round.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: Your elimination was very emotional; both Peregrine and China were crying, but you didn't seem upset about it at all. What was going through your mind when the announcement was made?
A. Mark: [Laughs] I've said it before and I'll say it again...a reality show is just a show, it has no bearing on real life. It's not gonna bring peace to the Middle East, it's not gonna bring our troops home. Lots of people on the show were taking things really hard; we were all exhausted and under a lot of pressure, and being sequestered from the world, you really get the sense that this is important. The way I was raised, I was taught to be grounded and to keep things in proper perspective. I've gotten a lot of response over the last few weeks from people saying how grounded I was. It's no big deal, it's just a competition. Abdi was really worried about going home, and I said that I knew I was going home because I hadn't ever won a challenge. If I don't seem broken up about it; I got to go home to my family, and to make work that I want to make.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: You mentioned a few times how uncomfortable you were with a topless photo of yourself; what about the concept made you the most uncomfortable?
A. Mark: For one thing, Peregrine and I work in very different styles; I make things that are more identifiable. Her original idea was to document a lawsuit, and I said, "That's not hell, losing a child is hell". Even the concept of my stomach wasn't hell, [because] I kept things in proper perspective. After my surgery, the doctors were walking on eggshells and I was asking if I was gonna get better. When they said yes, I said, "Then let's just get it done". Yeah, I'm a big guy; I don't necessarily like showing my man boobs to the world, but I've been able to sleep better at night. Being on a reality show, all of a sudden you have no control over how things are edited, and you just let it go. It's just one of those things; no one is proud of their bodies, even the most attractive person doesn't like their body in one way or another. At the end of the day, I thought our pieces were more cohesive than any others in the show.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: How did you feel about Miles' reaction to your work?
A. Mark: For one thing, even though I'm not his biggest fan, people are really harsh about that; we were all given a few seconds to talk about each person's work. For some reason, through editing, Miles is the only one who gets to be shown. Miles was really kind of harsh, but it's not that big of a deal. I take it as one person's perspective, and seeing the two-faced way that he was doing things, I took it with a grain of salt.

Q. Mike, RealityWanted: What's coming up next for you?
A. Mark: I've published a book and I'm selling those, I'm working on a bimonthly magazine and putting myself out there and doing more photo shoots. My main goal is to take my photos, and I have a decent following. I want to stay true to my work; I write about the real people who pose for my photos, and I think people respond to that.

Work of Art: The Next Great Artist airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

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