Mark Addison Smith is a Chicago-based artist who pays incredible attention to the world around him. In other words, he eavesdrops. On his blog, "You Look Like the Right Type," he illustrates snippets of overheard conversation (I know--you’re already hooked, aren’t you?). Two years ago, I wrote this poem inspired by one his images. The majority of his pieces give me the itch to create something in response to them--I think it’s because his art invites so much participation from the viewer. Implicitly, we are being asked to become eavesdroppers, to fill in the blanks with the clues he is giving us. What I value most in Mark’s art is his interest in and curiosity about others. By lavishing attention on small talk, he shows how every interaction between people can be meaningful.
Q: What is your process for gathering the language on your blog (Do you constantly make notes? Are certain spaces more ripe for inspiring language?)? What is it about language, out of context, that inspires you? What does art have to do with listening/eavesdropping?
A: For my daily illustration project, You Look Like The Right Type, I'm always listening in with an acute ear for what other folks say—inside crowded elevators, over breakfast at diners, in the gym locker room, in line for the bathroom (a source of inspiration, in fact, over the weekend). In a way, the more common the location, the better the quote—people tend to let their conversation guards down in their comfort-zone areas. I've even passed people on the sidewalk and have heard some amazing, out-of-context words that I've later translated into imagery. Any place where regular and, oftentimes, extraordinary folks frequent makes for good illustration fodder.
I overhear and illustrate dialogue in the same day, and my favorite illustration gets posted at the end of the day on my blog at YouLookLikeTheRightType.com.
