Marc l: The Artist

Born in Montreal and raised on a steady diet of technology and sci-fi, Adornato spent much of his childhood in Saudi Arabia and other foreign lands (his father, an engineer, was frequently relocated). Adornato feels these youthful experiences opened his mind to the world—and to what might become of it:

“The future and emerging technologies were always big interests of mine. I’ve embraced new ideas and concepts for technology rather than fear them. In 1996, British scientists announced that they had cloned a sheep. I told my dad, and discussed it with most of my friends but no one really believed it… or perhaps wanted to believe it. That irked me a little.”

Why did it irk him?

“Here was a scientific/technological achievement [with the potential to] change the very fabric of humanity and our existence as a species forever, and people brushed it off. The immensely positive applications were so breathtaking and awe inspiring, as were its negative applications so controversial and dangerous. I couldn’t believe that no one wanted to get into debates about it.”

With so few cloning conversants at hand, Adornato sought to explore the topic and spark debates through his artwork. Early on he sketched and sculpted visions of man merged with technology, or man merged with animals, or animals merged with animals. When video became his chief medium, the subject matter evolved with it. A few of his many projects include “Genetic Experiments” (2000)—short depictions of a Cyclops and other digitally altered human heads; “Genome 2001”—a remix video collage of technological evolution at the turn of the millennium; “The Clone Show” (2002—a remarkably edited depiction of Adornato interviewing his sharp-witted genetic twin.

Much like the multi-versioned man, Adornato’s work is paradoxical—at once funny and frightening, exciting and disturbing, revelational and apocalyptic. One moment the artist offers low-brow parody, the next he poses philosophical inquiries on the essence of humanity. Somehow it all comes together, but the viewer is left with a vague feeling of unease.

“I’d like to see everyone happy all the time, pleasant to each other, helpful, kind, and good spirited—a Utopia. But, that’s not gonna happen… So I also like to freak people out. Show them stuff that they never thought they’d see, shock them, leave them in awe… I’m talking about science and technology stuff, like glowing cloned monkeys, video of a human ear graphed onto a mouse’s back, or a man who can control his prosthetic arm just by thinking about it… that stuff is shocking—and awesome. That’s what art should do to viewers, leave them awe-struck, jaw hanging open. That’s the reaction I truly strive for with all my work.”

 Evidence of Adornato

(a) In Human Hybrid #1, 2, Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic becomes something else again. (b) Mabus makes an impromptu campaign appearance in Mabus: Tales for the Future, Episode 3: Vote Mabus 2000. (c) The artist meets a cheeky version of himself in The Clone Show (2002). (d) Adornato reports that men have a generally positive reaction to Human Hybrid #3 (Baby), but women don’t like it much. (e) In State of the Union – Remix (2003), George W. Bush receives a lot of applause for saying next to nothing.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

 Marc IV: The Cloner

Though he often employs humour in his work, Adornato clearly understands that cloning and genetic engineering are problematic issues, controversial and fraught with unknowns. Indeed, the uncertainty is a large part of what intrigues him.

“I began to research the ideas… and became enthralled with all the types of reproductive technologies, genetic research and manipulation (in plants and animals) and history that surrounded the subject. Not just in sci-fi, but in real world history. You didn’t have to go back far to find that cloning, genetic manipulation, and creating a ‘supreme race of beings’ wasn’t just plastered into the realm of sci-fi, but was very real during World War II.”

“And what about all the positive uses: developing new bio-steels and organic materials, renewable and reusable resources, reviving extinct animals, speeding up the growth process of trees and vegetation, cleaning up the environment, feeding the hungry, curing diseases?”

To the many people who try to reel in his enthusiasm by declaring that humans will never be allowed to clone humans, Adornato has one question: Who will stop them?

“Who will stop that mad scientist in his basement laboratory in the Middle East, or Asia, or some other country with relaxed standards on human reproduction? No one will… and bad things are bound to happen. What will happen when they do begin to make these beings of selective genes? Human-animal hybrids. Improved beings. Will we be able to tell them apart from natural beings? Unlikely.”

“I’m not claiming to have answers about this reproductive thing, or how humans will deal with it, nor am I an expert on any of this stuff… I’m just a simple artist who frequently thinks, and goes for long, long walks, outside of the box.”

 Marc ll: The Actor

Adornato is very much a showman. As a songwriter and musician in his band, The Clones, Adornato has performed all over Canada, including appearances on “The Tom Green Show,” City TV, the New RO and Rogers 22. He has won numerous video and audio grants and competitions. He knows the power of self-promotion, yet his most significant “performance art” achievement involves a deliberate masking of his identity—a temporary shedding of all Marc Adornatos.

“I developed a performance character, ‘Mabus,’ where I dress up in a white NASA jumpsuit with a gasmask on, and run around town, usually during protests or very public occasions, and film it. Then later I’ll shoot dialogue scenes, and edit it all together with epic music and subtitles.”

“I’m not recognizable—and I usually get dressed and undressed in secret, so that few observers know it’s me. That’s the way I want to keep it when it comes to my performance art.”

Mabus is a scary scientific revolutionary and a politician to boot. He is leader of the “None of the Above Party” and he very much wants your vote. The character’s mystery and anonymity give Adornato an effective means to create the awe-struck reaction he covets.

“It is very intimidating and bewildering to be confronted with someone wearing a mask, specifically a gas mask… And if the face beneath the mask is known, it would lose some of it’s intrigue.... Indeed, if the viewer is confused about who I am, or about whether the performance is real, the reaction can be very different. That is also why I perform on camera. For me, part of the art is to document that unrehearsed reaction of the public.”

Witnessing the viewer’s reaction is key for Adornato. Based on his anecdotes, he clearly enjoys being present when his work is screened. And he’s not satisfied with anything less than shock and awe.

“I think that if the audience hated my stuff, or was dead silent through a video, or I saw that they were impartial or confused, or pretending to make me feel better… I’d start to cry, then give up, and move on to something else.. It is critical that I have the viewer’s attention, capture their interest, their focus, and their imagination.”

“One of the biggest reasons I use mainstream media is because it is constantly pumped in my face. I only have 50 channels on TV, and none of them are what I want.”

 Marc III: The Re-visionary

Most of Adornato’s videos are “remix” projects: the kind that manipulate and reinterpret pre-existing footage such as television news broadcasts to present something totally new, usually subversive and often laced with irony.

In the voiceover for his My Alternative video, Adornato recalled his initial reaction to the remix form:

“It was not only a tremendous sensation to defy convention, but when copyright infringement was no longer a deterrent for my expression, I truly felt a freedom to express my opinion like I had never felt before.”

In State of the Union – Remix, Adornato uses remix to superb effect, slicing and dicing footage of George W. Bush, Tony Blair and assorted cronies so that intelligible speech (a rarity for Bush at the best of times) is replaced almost entirely with standing ovation after standing ovation after standing ovation. The work cleverly exposes the propagandist underpinnings of the occasion. The regal and ceremonial address becomes a theatre of the absurd.

That’s the power of remix. To the normally passive consumer of mass media (i.e., you and me), the technique can be quite potent because we are simply unaccustomed to seeing things like news broadcasts manipulated, and that’s partly why remix generates its share of criticism.

“It bothers me when critics against… remix video suggest it is illegal, or not valid. Not only can I do this legally according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, article 2b, but it’s also a very effective way to express my ideas, and my art, and requires a great amount of skill, knowledge and talent to be effective.

“One of the biggest reasons I use mainstream media is because it is constantly pumped in my face. I only have 50 channels on TV, and none of them are what I want.”

“It [remix] makes for great satire, great critique… people can get involved with my work cause I’m usually remixing topics that are very prevalent in our society and using images from our culture that they can recognize easily. My videos make people rethink the way they watch and absorb TV. They bring issues to light that people may never have known or seen before.”

“I’d like to see everyone happy all the time, pleasant to each other, helpful, kind, and good spirited—a Utopia. But, that’s not gonna happen… So I also like to freak people out.”