Rachel Gilman: Stacey Mark

Striking yet elusive photographer Stacey Mark kindly granted me her time. I am thrilled!

What do you do for a living? I'm a photographer but i also do photo research to pay the bills

Favorite drink. COFFEE in all caps

Favorite quote. I just recently read an interview with Richard Prince where he talks about the debate as to whether his work is "his" consider a lot of his work is about re-appropriating images. I cant remember which work he was referring to but he said "I wasn't my reality but if can become your reality when you start to possess it." That pretty much sums up the creative process for me. I obsess about characters, moments in time, etc. Things that i didn't personally experience but the longer and the more deeply they live inside you the more yours it becomes.
Oh yeah and "Do something else, do my eyebrows!" or pretty much anything Madonna says in Truth or Dare.

Favorite shade of lipstick. Dragon Girl by Nars

Favorite ice cream flavor. mint chocolate chip

Favorite candy. sweetarts

Favorite concert experience. has to either be Madonna/Blond Ambition b/c i mean, cmon. Iconic! or i think my first concert was Aerosmith and Skid Row at the Spectrum in Philly so b/c it was my first i'll say that one too.

Favorite holiday. saturday morning. anything more is too much pressure

What was your worst Halloween costume? i grew up in an apartment building that was essentially an old age home and i'm not exaggerating. i think i was 6 or 7, my mom created a Dorothy costume for me, even glued sequins to some little ballet slippers. I rang the first bell and this elderly man came out and said "oooh look at you..." i screamed, ran down the hall, up the elevator and under my bed. not a big halloween fan since then.

And the best? see childhood trauma in previous question. but ok, i made a pretty good "express yourself" era Madonna in high school.

Mexican food or italian food? italian

Favorite restaurant. pure food and wine

Favorite smell. tuberose

Are you allergic to anything? cats (so sad b/c i love them)

Favorite color. green

Favorite hair style. i get lost whenever i see someone with that perfect ice-y yellow blonde. i want it.

Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf and why? (yes I watch too many movies) i just want my own Edward Cullen

What was your worst traveling experience?i went to london for a semester and i was a drunken miserable depressive mess the entire time. lets blame London.

And the best? going on tour with Antony and the Johnsons as part of "Turning" We went all over Europe, i was with my very best friends seeing beautiful places and listening to the most gut-wrenching honest most gorgeous music in the world live sometimes 2x a day. nothing will ever compare.

What shampoo do you use? If i'm lucky i have some Bumble & bumble around if i'm left to my own devices i would guess an herbal essences but i cant really be sure

Name a bad habit.. well i just quit smoking so i think my worst habit now is thinking about how much i miss smoking

What toothpaste brand do you use? crest

Name a recent happy moment. i just started doing Pilates recently and i'm always so happy when class is over!

What are your guilty pleasures? Everything Howard Stern and bags of Stacys Cinnamon and Sugar Pita Chips

Favorite fruit. pretty much all of them

Favorite vegetable. string beans

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? well, its a fruit right? but my nutritionist has it on the vegetable list and he's pretty much my expert on such matters. truthfully as long as its on a list of things i can eat i dont care!

Do you have a crush on an unusual person? everyone i have a crush on is unusual

Favorite painter. ok for the moment i'm going to give the popular/unpopular answer of John Currin. I cant say he's my alltime fave but i just saw his show recently and i fell in love with his obsessions and his humour. i think i feel in love with the idea that he was constantly sketching and painting a certain type of woman, met his wife at a party and she embodied everything he had been creating. thats the kinda romance i love.

Favorite book. i dont know what my fave is, right now i'm reading the biography of Lenny Bruce so for today that's my fave!

Favorite author. i read mostly biographies/autobiographies so i dont really have a favorite author. want to read more fiction though.

Favorite article of clothing. my worn out tshirts

Favorite piece of jewelry. i dont wear any

Electric toothbrush or manual? (non electric toothbrush?) recently switched to electric per dentists orders

Do you have any pets? yes i have an amazingly silly cockatiel named Maureen Tucker and a loveable (rescue) muppet of a dog named George (Editor's note: This past Friday, she found and saved the life of an abandoned Shitzu that was being dumped in front of a tattoo shop.)

Favorite website or blog that you have to check out every day. i am pained to admit i look at Perez Hilton everyday but i know i'm not alone! Also i love Jezebel.

Cheers, Stacey!
You can her dreamlike work at www.staceymark.com, as well as in magazines such as Lula, Self Service and Purple.
Some of my favorite photos by Stacey: