Mark Miremont is an American artist who works in photography,

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

and aphoristic writing.

Early life and education

Mark Miremont was born in Madrid, Spain and studied philosophy at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. His first experimental film "Antinomies" led to him being invited into Graduate School at the

UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first time a leadi ...

., 34MB pdf download, accessed online, May 27, 2015

Music Videos & Sundance Fellow

Miremont directed numerous music videos to put himself through film school.Morris, Chris: BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: "Whitley Returns To Familiar Turf" (January 19, 1997, pg. 14)
Accessed online, May 27, 2015Atwood, Brett: BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: "Recent Music Video Production" (August 16, 1997, pg. 74)
Accessed online, May 27, 2015MTV.COM: Miremont directed video for Lazlo Bane in MTV's top ten for 1997
/ref>MTV.COM: Miremont directs Toad the Wet Sprocket's 1st video
/ref>Ressner, Jeffrey: ROLLINGSTONE MAGAZINE: "Toad the Wet Sprocket's New Music Video" (Oct. 5, 1989, pg. 18)
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 The first video he directed was also

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

's first video, "

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

".Smith, Emily: "The Pearl Jam Handbook", page 554
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 The video was put into regular rotation on MTV and is notable for being the first music video to establish the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

aesthetic.YNOT EUROPE, "Amsterdam Art Gallery to Host Provocative Photography Exhibit", October 7, 2010
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 His experimental films and music videos caught the attention of the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...

. He was invited to become a fellow and develop the script for his first experimental feature film, White Ocean.VARIETY – "Sundance Announces 8 new Directing Fellows", April 5th, 1991, page 47
Accessed online, May 27, 2015"THE SUNDANCE INSTITUTE ARCHIVE – june lab projects"
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 He directed actors

Lothaire Bluteau Lothaire Bluteau (born 14 April 1957) is a Canadian actor. Biography He was born in Montreal, Quebec, and performs in both French and English. Bluteau has worked in theatre, film and television throughout Canada and internationally. He aband ...

, J. E. Freeman and

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

at the Institute's June Filmmaker's Lab.

Photography and experimental films

Photography

Miremont shoots stylized

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

and often erotic

figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif *Noise figure, in telecommunication *Dance figure, an elementary dance pattern ...

studies of notable people in

alternative culture Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...

like:

Dita Von Teese Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Queen ...

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van D ...

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

Switchblade Symphony Switchblade Symphony was an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Their music combined orchestral sounds with heavy synth sequences and ethereal vocals to create a union of classical music and gothic rock. History Switchblade S ...

The Chop Tops The Chop Tops were a rockabilly trio from Santa Cruz, California consisting of Sinner (vocals/standing drums), Shelby (guitar), and Josh (upright bass). The band was formed by Sinner in 1995, Shelby joined in 1999, and Josh took over bass duties ...

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...

Julie Strain Julie Ann Strain (February 18, 1962 – January 10, 2021) was an American actress and model. She was chosen by ''Penthouse (magazine), Penthouse'' as Pet of the Month in June 1991 and Pet of the Year in 1993. Her biggest mainstream acting role was ...

Puma Swede Johanna Jussinniemi (born 13 September 1976), better known by her stage name Puma Swede, is a Swedish pornographic actress and feature dancer. The first part of her stage name comes from the sports car, the Ford Puma. Since 2005, she has appea ...

Jessica Jaymes Jessica Redding (March 8, 1979 – September 17, 2019), known by her stage name Jessica Jaymes, was an American pornographic actress. She was ''Hustler''s first contract model and the "''Hustler'' Honey of the Year" in 2004, the August 200 ...

Toad The Wet Sprocket Toad the Wet Sprocket is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Barbara, California, in 1986. The band at the time consisted of vocalist/guitarist Glen Phillips, guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning, and drummer Randy Guss, ...

Chris Whitley Christopher Becker Whitley (August 31, 1960 – November 20, 2005) was an American blues/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. During his 25-year career he released more than a dozen albums, had two songs in the top 50 of the Billboard mains ...

, The Koffin Kats,

Lazlo Bane Lazlo Bane is an alternative rock band from Santa Monica, California, United States. They are well known for collaborating with former Men at Work member Colin Hay, and providing the song "Superman (Lazlo Bane song), Superman" as the theme for t ...

, Gren, Masuimi Max, and many others. His photography has been exhibited around the world and featured in the alternative culture and art press: Argentinian Art Magazine,

Revolutionart ''Revolutionart'' is an international magazine about graphic design, visual arts, and lifestyle. Some of their contributors were Floria Sigismondi, Mark Miremont, Andrzej Dragan, Matt Mignanelli, Skew Siskin, Jeremyville, Mandy Lynn Olivi ...

calls his work, "brash", "sensual" and "largely responsible for the resurgence of the pinup". YNOT Europe describes his work as "wildly original and perfectly composed". AVN Magazine calls his work, "distinctive";Gillespie, Jack: AVN MAGAZINE, "Mark Miremont’s Carnival of Desires to be Released", page 57, September 10, 2004
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 and he has been dubbed, "The Pope of Pinup", by Italian Art Magazine STIRATO.Barcaroli, Sebastiano: STIRATO ART MAGAZINE "Mark Miremont: The Pope of Pin-up." (issue #4, winter 2007)
In Italian, Accessed online, May 27, 2015STIRATO MAGAZINE interview in Italian
pdf download accessed online, May 27, 2015

Carnival of Desires

In 2004, Miremont released a collection of eight short films under the title "Carnival of Desires". Each film explores a different theme related to desire and according to AVN, was "shot at an opulent mansion... using a variety techniques". In his review, AVN Editor, Tim Connelly, called it a "glittering and unbelievably hypnotic dreamscape" with "Felliniesque moments of Technicolor fantasy".Connelly, Tim: AVN MAGAZINE, "REVIEW: Mark Miremont's Carnival of Desires", page 122, November 1, 2004
Accessed online, May 27, 2015

The Resurrection of Beauty: Solo Photography Exhibit & Film Premiere

From 2010–2011, Miremont had a solo exhibit of his photography at La Galerie Provacatrice in Amsterdam, entitled "The Resurrection of Beauty". The exhibit coincided with the premiere of an early cut of his feature length experimental film of the same name. The film stars several notable models, including

."DJG – Wasteland The Wildest Party on Earth", Film Premiere Announced October 15, 2010"
In Dutch, accessed online, May 27, 2015"AI NEWS – Resurrection of Beauty", Exhibit & Film Premiere Announced October 6, 2010"
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 The screening took place at the world's largest annual alternative fashion event,

Wasteland Wasteland or waste land may refer to: * Desert or barren area * an uncultivated area of land, whether wooded or not, whether common land or not Art, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Wasteland'' (DC Comics), 1987–1989 anthology-style horror/ ...

, for an audience of over 6000 people.

Philosophy

The Resurrection of Beauty: Manifesto

In conjunction with the solo photography exhibit and film premiere, the gallery published Miremont's "The Resurrection of Beauty: a manifesto for 21st century art".Miremont, Mark: "The Resurrection of Beauty: a manifesto for 21st century art"
, Accessed online, May 27, 2015
, Accessed online, May 27, 2015 Edward Grande of The University of York wrote that Miremont's manifesto is "concerned with refuting the beliefs of artistic rivals"; in this case, Dadism and

Conceptual Art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

. Grande adds that, "though offering engaging discourse on current issues", the manifesto is "ostentatious".Grande, Edward: THE UNIVERSITY OF YORK, "Noise: The Manifesto Market", February 8, 2011
Accessed online, May 27, 2015 The

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

's Aesthetic Manifesto Analysis lists two central lines from the manifesto as: "Beauty is the purpose of art, just as a building is the purpose of architecture" and "The utility of art is to inform us of beauty, just as the utility of science is to inform us of truth." Accessed online, May 27, 2015 An aphorism from the manifesto, "It is far more revolutionary to be sincere, romantic and idealistic", was used and credited in a 2011 marketing campaign by the French cognac brand,

Courvoisier Courvoisier () is a brand of cognac, with production based in the town of Jarnac in the Charente region of France. It is the youngest and smallest of the "big four" cognac houses (the others are Hennessy, Rémy Martin, and Martell). Courvo ...

.Topol, Kateryna: URBAN NATIVE MAGAZINE, "Are you revolutionary?", June 26, 2011, pg 14
, Accessed online, May 27, 2015Courvoisier Collective Campaign, May 17, 2011
Accessed online, May 27, 2015

References

External links

markmiremont.com
*
Miremont MVDBMiremont on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miremont, Mark Living people American contemporary artists Harvard University alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni UCLA Film School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)