Mississippi Transplant: Joe MacGown

"When I began studying insects and other organisms, doors were flung open as the realization hit me that this region is a biodiversity hot spot. For an artist, this was amazing inspiration."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? As a child, Joe MacGown’s family moved from Maine to Starkville, Mississippi. For years, Joe missed Maine’s rugged coastal beauty, but eventually he began “learning about the uniqueness of the natural history in the South and appreciating the beauty directly in front of me.” An entomologist and self-taught artist, Joe is known for his scientific illustrations and ridiculously detailed chaotic assemblages of strange, mutated creatures, crowded surreal landscapes, and mandala-like designs. Over the last few years Joe and his son Joseph H. MacGown have been creating an art compound called the MacGown Art Retreat and Studio (MARS) on their property in Sessums, and have started the MacGown Art Artist in Residence program, offering artists a paid stipend to create work in a secluded and picturesque environment.

Joe MacGown sits in front of two of his creations.

Where are you from?

Maine

How long have you lived in Mississippi?

I have lived in Mississippi since I was in middle school. Our family moved here in late 1974 so my father could work on his PhD in entomology at Mississippi State University. After high school I briefly lived in Memphis, TN, then Pensacola, FL, before somehow landing back in Starkville.

What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?

When I was child, it seemed that we moved about continuously, living in rentals from town to town or within the same towns. About thirty years ago, at the age of thirty, we were finally able to purchase a small house on few acres in the Sessums community about ten miles from the Mississippi State campus. In the thirty years of living here, I’ve come to know the meaning of place, of home, family, community, and of building, growing, and dreaming.

Not long after buying the place, our son Joseph was born. And that joker, now in his late twenties, has blossomed into a creative artist, writer, and singer/songwriter. We have done numerous collaborative art projects. Perhaps my situation here in this time and space is not unique, and to be fair, it took me years to appreciate what this state had to offer. But, if you settle down and look around, you begin to see what’s right in front of you. You realize that as an individual we can affect change, even if that’s in the form of planting trees and building an art studio. When you can change something in your community, it becomes more and more of your home.

A view of Joe’s studio in Sessums, about ten miles away from the Mississippi State University campus.

How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here?

I used to be one of those people who complained about the lack of this or that, especially in the arts. Then the obvious hit me: nobody was stopping me from doing things of my own accord. I did not have to wait for someone else to give me opportunities.

For me, as an artist, this meant creating events such as small festivals, art walks, pop-up shows, and other similar venues that would allow local creatives to showcase their artwork, music, and more. Creating these types of opportunities is impossible to do on your own. It requires spaces, sponsors, benefactors, appreciators, media support. How does one get others to help? Just ask. Community. Relationships.