Even though Mark Bauer saw his company’s product livening up the workplace, he sees no reason why people wouldn’t want to do that with the ones they have at their homes.
Combining work from past masters with that of current artists, Bauer launched the desk art subscription delivery startup Monesk in October. Shortly thereafter, he wrapped up an Independent campaign for Texas’ 24th Congressional District. Now, he’s taking the ethos and lessons learned from the campaign, along with a desire to uplift unheard voices to grow the fledgling company.
"You’re setting up your home office, you’re kind of isolated from the world and if any museums are open at all, can you get out and appreciate some of the things in society that you were enjoying prior to that,” Bauer told NTX Inno. “I thought this would be a neat social distancing way to get art in people’s hands and support artists who are, if they were struggling before the pandemic, struggling even more so now probably.”
The concept is pretty straight forward: subscribe, have a package arrive each month with desk-sized art to show off to your coworkers (even if they happen to be your kids and pets right now).
On one side of the display is an image of a classic work, something from the likes of Picasso to Bosch. But what makes Monesk a little different is on the other side, which features a work from a current artist. The company employs a full-time art curator to select the works, which often come from underrepresented communities, Bauer said. For example, December’s package included works from an artist and veteran who splits their time between the border cities of Juarez and El Paso. Right now, the featured current artists come from Texas, where the company’s network is but it hopes to expand that as it grows.
“We like to support artists from marginalized groups, specifically because I think… about some of the voices that need to be listened to and heard,” Bauer said. “I think if they have an interesting story, then their art moves us.”
The inspiration behind Monesk starts with an image Bauer’s brother showed him that he had created on his phone. Impressed by an artistic ability he didn’t know existed, he noticed the iPhone format it was one would translate well to sitting on top a desk.
And not just wanting to show off a few nice images, Monesk is also looking to drive interest in the art world. Part of the company’s revenue for the month goes to the featured artist. In addition, the images come with a set of thought-provoking questions about the piece. And wanting to create an entire experience, Monesk sends its monthly packages, which include a 4” by 6” print, as well as the artist’s bio, decoratively wrapped.
“A big component of Monesk is teaching people how to appreciate art. I grew up in Dallas and I went to college and took art appreciation classes, but it wasn’t really until I was working as an adult… that I realized how important art is in speaking and saying things about truth, the nature of reality,” Bauer said. “Art can also be inaccessible. I always thought it was for people who knew better, had better tastes but then quickly realized that that is not the case. Art is for everybody.”
Bauer said he also sees the Monesk poised for the current social climate, amplifying work from artists that often speaks to a political, social or personal truth. He said he sees art as a way to deconstruct and rebuild previously held beliefs. And that’s also something he had to do in the lead up to Monesk’s launch.
As a former legal journalist, Bauer has spent the past few years in Washington, D.C., as he said trying to understand the divisiveness of the current political environment. He said that he believes part of the issue is the polarization in discussions, and that art can be a way to express ideas and opinions, often without causing a defensive or reactionary response.
He also took those ideas on the campaign trail, running as Independent for Texas’ 24th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of Tarrant, Dallas and Denton counties. While he ended up losing the race to Republican Beth Van Duyne, Bauer said he has brought some of the lessons learned on the trail to his role at Monesk
“Art, if we allow it to, is commentary on the nature of reality, that, if we’re positioned and postured to listen to it, can say a lot more than a talking head on CNN or Fox News,” Bauer said.
For one, he said campaigning requires listening to people, something important when managing a four-person team. It’s also something Bauer said important for appreciating the meaning of an art work, although listening in that case may not necessarily require ears. He also said that when campaigning he had to take clear stances on issues he personally may have an “opaque” stance on, which he said has helped him navigate the company, especially during uncertain times. In addition, Bauer said it taught him to take personally the responsibility of making sure he lives up to the promises he makes, whether that’s to potential constituents or to employees and customers.
“One of the things I wanted to do this year was to try to produce as much and put as much out into the world as I could, and speak truth. And part of that was with the campaign and also part of that was (Monesk),” Bauer said. “Just because we are a platform, we kind of want to live in the artist ethos, which is creating art, putting it out in the world and being able to pay your bills at the same time.”
So far, Monesk has been fully bootstrapped and is currently shipping out packages nationwide. As it looks to grow, Bauer said the company is focusing on social media advertising to get more eyes on Monesk and the art, especially Instagram, which at one point was largely devoted to artists. As it does that, Bauer said Monesk is also looking to expand its network of contributing artists to showcase different communities and perspectives.
“At first I saw (the pandemic) as more detrimental because one of the primary purposes of it was to have art in your office, but as people were setting up their home offices they realized maybe it’s as important as ever,” Bauer said. “We wanted to be able to do this to expose people to different kinds of art, especially people who maybe haven’t been as close to art in their lives at this point.”
