Work on Monday: "Homage to NunSexMonkRock" by Marcie Honerkamp
Works of mosaic art date back as far as the 8th century BC, and artists are keeping that tradition alive nearly 3,000 years later. On the East End, Marcie Honerkamp stands out as one of the best in the medium. The artists creates both two- and three-dimensional mosiacs, and shows an uncanny ability to reproduce just about anything in bits of glass, ceramic and stone. Her reprise of Nina Hagen’s 1982 NunSexMonkRock album cover is just one wonderful example of Honerkamp’s prowess, and it remains a strong example of her vision and skill.
Homage to NunSexMonkRock
Marcie Honerkamp
Mosaic
24 x 24 inches, 2007
Ancient mosaics were often made in places that required durability, places where some level of abuse or wear and tear was expected—such as walls, floors, baths and decorative outdoor areas. It’s this durability that gives the work a sort of permanence and everlasting quality, adding a sense of importance to the object, and the subject it depicts.
In the case of “Homage to NunSexMonkRock”(and her other record covers), Honerkamp does a lovely recreation of Hagen’s album art, while also putting it on a pedestal, more than metaphorically setting the image in stone and giving the utmost importance as a piece of art. The mosaic pays homage to the record and its cover art, and preserves it in a durable form that will survive long after the last copies of the real NunSexMonkRock have rotted and crumbled away.
Beyond its historical context, “Homage to NunSexMonkRock” is also visually beautiful, drawing on the best parts of the Hagen album’s original design—the Madonna and her baby Jesus, the Mexican-influenced light motif and the words, including Hagen’s name and her genius title.
Any recording artists should be honored to be laid out and set in Honerkamp’s studio, as she turns their work into sacred relics that will live well beyond the musicians, the albums, the artist and all of us.
To see more of Marcie Honerkamp’s work, visit meesespieces.com.
Work on Monday is a weekly look at one piece of art related to the East End, usually by a Hamptons or North Fork artist, living or dead, created in any kind of media. Join the conversation by posting your thoughts in the comments below and email suggestions for a future Work on Monday here.