The
Twelfth Man

At 10:45pm on June 19, our dear colleague and irreplaceable friend Mark Planisek’s life was taken from us when as a pedestrian, he was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk near the Clarendon metro station barely an hour after leaving an art opening at the Arlington Arts Center of the collective show Sparkplug: New Work, in which he was exhibiting. Mark became a part of Sparkplug in 2007, when the group was newly formed, but I have had the privilege of knowing Mark since 2003 as tenant of the Millennium Art Center (MAC) where Mark had the studio above me. Our combined tendency for working late hours was a natural source of bonding. When MAC lost that space it was Mark who found me a space neighboring the new studio he had moved into. All and all we, were studio neighbors for about 5 years and in that time I would enjoy the pleasures of his art, his conversation and eventually his friendship. I would also find him to be an unending resource on the craft of painting, printing and art handling and fierce and resolute advocate for the unsung hero and history of visual art in DC and for welcoming and creating opportunities for those that were new to the scene.

Mark moved to another studio space in early 2007. Missing him as my neighbor in arms, (and in art) later that year I urged him to join our monthly discussions at the DC Art’s Center in the formation of Sparkplug. I know I speak for everyone in the Sparkplug Collective and at DCAC when I say that Mark’s depth of experience and tireless devotion and enthusiasm for his own work and for community building was integral to the powerful start Sparkplug has had these past two years.

I have been told that Mark’s passing was ‘swift and decisive’, yet it leaves the members of our group feeling a gap that will never be filled by any one person with so much skill and sincerity, kindness and humility. As one of our members wrote me, the shock of his death “happened so quickly. I feel like I was just getting to know Mark through my involvement in Sparkplug and feel like I've lost so much because I won't be able to work with him further.” Mark is a legacy of the embodiment of a working artist. He created art works of integrity, works that communicated all the wonder and intensity that were such a part of his personality.

I know my grief at losing Mark, who has done so much for me personally, is just a small, small piece of the collective pain that all the members of Sparkplug are feeling and will have to endure forever following this senseless and tragic loss of someone who was so good. The anguish we are experiencing in the small community he shared with us at DCAC hardly begins to scratch the surface of the loss felt by the entire DC community in which he was so well loved. Our sincere condolences to Anne and to Mark’s family and all his most treasured friends, thank you so much for sharing him with us. Mark truly touched all of our lives and will never be forgotten.

A public memorial is being held at the Portrait Gallery where Mark was an art handler for Saturday, July 11 at 9am.

Read more memories of Mark on face to face, the blog of the National Portrait Gallery and the blog Art and Art Handling

-Karen Joan Topping, Sparkplug Member and DCAC Board Member

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The District of Columbia Arts Center is a nonprofit organization located in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. DCAC supports emerging artists who are trying to get a foothold in the public arena.
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