Mark Morrisroe

Mark Morrisroe
Self Portrait (to Brent), 1982, Mark Morrisroe
Born	1959 Boston
Died	1989
Nationality	American
Education	School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Known for	Photography, Performance Art
Movement	punk

Mark Morrisroe (January 10, 1959 - July 24, 1989) was an American performance artist and photographer. He is known for his performances and photographs, which were germane in the development of the punk scene in Boston in the 1970s and the art world boom of the mid to late 1980s in New York City. By the time of his death he had created some 2,000 pieces of work.

Born to a drug-addicted mother in Malden, Massachusetts, Morrisroe left home and began hustling under the name Mark Dirt at the age of 15. His mother was a tenant of Albert DeSalvo, who would become known as "the Boston Strangler", and Mark often told people he was DeSalvo's illegitimate son. When he was 17 years old, a disgruntled client shot him in the back, leaving him with a bullet lodged next to his spine for the rest of his life. The experience had a profound influence on his art, which often incorporated images of young prostitutes and X-rays of his injured chest.

He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he made friends with several soon-to-be-well-known artists, including Nan Goldin,David Armstrong,Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Stephen Tashjian (aka Tabboo!, with whom he founded the drag duo "Clam Twins" at the Pyramid Club in NYC's East Village), Gail Thacker and Pat Hearn. His boyfriend in Boston was Johnathan Pierson, who later changed his name to Jack Pierson. He graduated from the Museum School with honors receiving the coveted "5th" Year" Award.