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Basilique de St.Denis is where most all of the French kings are buried and it is minutes away from Marko's house. We met Marko at the Basilique which is fitting as he is like a French king of light painting. I have a clear memory of seeing Marko for the first time. He was standing casually at a bus stop with his unique light sabre flashing so we could easily identify him. I stood where I was for a moment to allow my feelings to brew.....here was someone that in the light painting community represents something of an icon. He has taken his graffiti chops and translated them into a unique, distinctive and instantly recognizable signature style. When you see one of Marko's light paintings it is always obvious that it came from a master's hand.
His technique is a combination of martial arts movements and Calligraphy that he draws which is a secret world language he has developed over more than 20 years doing graffiti and light painting. There is a refined precision in his light art. The nature of his light painting is that it is all as if his whole body is a brush, his entire person moves with each stroke and the amazing spatial integration and precision of his strokes come from his absolute mastery over his body as it moves in three dimensions. In fact, Marko let us know that his technique stems form working in Aikido as well as other more obscure and ancient forms of martial arts. This is evident as he showed us his technique. In each motion you hear his "ki", his "kokyu" as he makes his strokes. For the martial artists out there you will understand...you hear his exhale in each and every motion. His light painting technique is applied exactly as if it were a martial arts "form"....his body control and center of gravity are tightly controlled, but his muscles and mind are calm. We took some daytime light painting pics at the Basilique and I was taken back with just how quickly Marko can move. He would rotate his "sabre" (a custom light tool from futur-led) and move side to side and forwards simultaneously. The amount of forward motion he could make in a very short period of time was pretty shocking. I'm glad I'll never have to face him in some sort of show down! Watching him move was impressive to say the least. It is exponentially more impressive when you see the product if these motions. You see, he not only moves his body and sabre, but simultaneously presses the RGB buttons on the handle to change the color of his lights. The complexity of the integrated actions is obviously something that has takes literally years to master.
I am sure he would not describe himself as a master because the other most striking characteristic of Marko is a tranquil humility. His "center" is solid and his mind is clear. We had a hectic schedule and getting to him was like running a race, but after some time with him we were re-energized and grounded. His spirit was contagious, his eyes were relaxing. Marko lives in "93" at the Basilique and we were told this area is where "a lot of hip hop and graffiti comes from".....Marko reinforced this by politely stating that the area we were walking through was a place ...."the people from Paris are afraid to come to..." Haha! In my American translation I think we were being told that this was "the projects".....Sure enough, when we were walking these streets at midnight with Marko to do light painting I could see it. Respect. That is what Marko receives in his hood. Were rolled into a small store to get some beer in the early afternoon and the streets were filled with people on the corners...it was May Day, a big holiday....the streets were alive and poppin'. As we walked through the neighborhood Marko was constantly greeted with smiles, handshakes, hand slaps and all forms of "love".....wow, here we were rolling through these madly alive streets in a neighborhood we may not have wanted to be in alone and Marko was obviously loved and respected. I know from my own experiences that love on the streets is hard to come by, and keeping the love and respect over time is even harder. The smiles and kind words Marko received from the street corners represents a key element that I discovered about Marko: he keeps it fucking real! Marko keeps it real by paying respect to where he has come from. He keeps it real by giving back and working with the youth in his area. I'll give you an example.....Marko has lived in this area for well over 25 years, 35 years I think he said, and he took us to a long graffiti wall that has his graffiti on it. Some of it is apparently over 20 years old. He explained to us that each of the sections of wall was a tribute to someone from the hood that had been killed or murdered in the area. In addition, Marko is actively engaged in teaching youth programs to help the kids growing up on these streets just like he did. I'll tell you that when we asked Marko about his light painting he was happy and excited, but when we asked him what it felt like to teach the youth and why it is important he lit up brighter than his futur-led light sabre of his. His eyes came alive with a spark, an energy, a real passion that made me wish I was a youth on his streets just so I could be at the feet of this master..... There is much more to be said about our visit in general and Marko in particular, but I have to leave some stuff for future articles.....One last thing I can't miss stating is that Marko is an EXCELLENT chef! He made us some Crepes that were literally the best thing I have ever tasted. We must have looked haggard, because he was insistent that we sit, eat, drink and we had to physically stop him form cooking us more food. We left Marko more humbled than ever. We left Marko with broader horizons and a new "center"..... You gotta have roots to have a future and Marko's roots run deep. Marko....."much respect"
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