As
an already established artist in the U.S. Mulleian was becoming controversial.
Not only in his art surrounding his intense subject matter, but now on his
views of homosexuality that drew the attention of the FBI to the front door
of the artist's studio.
In
January 1973, The Advocate (a national newspaper in the U.S.) published one
of the biggest feature stories on an individual of its day, which drew national
attention and generated fan mail throughout the U.S. The cover story was two
full pages dedicated to Mark Mulleian's art and lifestyle, and his views ranging
from human rights and individual sexual expression, to the political aspects
of journalism, such as the themes discussed in the writings of Thomas Albright,
art critic of the San Francisco Chronicle. It was in the area of individual
sexual expression that Mulleian's outspoken views drew the attention of the
FBI to the front door of the artist's studio in an investigation into his controversial
and challenging commentary of aspects of fundamental social values, Mulleian
reveals that he is a homosexual.
Despite
the artist's outspoken observations of the national scene, his media attention
continued to climb for over three decades, not only in mainstream media but
also in the media of a newly emerging counterculture that was finding its voice
in what would later come to be thought of as a bridge between the sensibilities
of North Beach and the dawning of a new age of personal expression and sexual
freedom. He was thought by many to be ahead of his time. Mulleian's art and
his avant-garde views created a unique relationship with the media of two cultures,
a relationship that was not only unprecedented but, indirectly, a testimony
to the universality of his work.
An artist comes out
on a international scale
Two
weeks after the Advocate story broke, a similar two-page cover feature would
appear in the European equivalent of the Advocate, the German magazine Him,
a monthly periodical reaching a wide audience in Belgium, Denmark, England,
Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States.
Mulleian was twenty-three years old.
