Mark Deem
Mark Deem builds public art you can climb, sit on, and argue over. He founded Misfit Toys Art, the San Francisco Bay Area crew behind the L-O-V-E blocks and The Jax in Golden Gate Park and One Tin Soldier at Burning Man.
How it started
The Jax began with a found object. During a cottage demolition, Mark found an antique jack wedged in a wall. The home had belonged to a single mother raising two daughters, and he still keeps that little toy. It grew into ten galvanized steel jax, each about 85 times its size, on the lawn of the Conservatory of Flowers.
"I found that jack wedged in a wall during a demolition. The home had belonged to a single mother raising two daughters. That little toy started all of this."
Mark Deem
Every Misfit Toys piece follows the same idea: take a toy everyone remembers, build it big enough to stop people mid-walk, and let them touch it. Mark leads a core crew of 16 and more than 30 volunteers: welders, carpenters, painters, and people who have never held a grinder.
Selected work
Before Misfit Toys
Mark learned to build at scale on Burning Man's Man Crew, the team that builds the giant wooden effigy at the center of Black Rock City. He co-founded HeadMaze, a benefit corporation, and co-led fabrication of The Chain Room at The Generator in Reno in 2019.
He works with SF Rec & Park, Illuminate the Arts, Building 180, and Big Art Loop to bring big, playful pieces into public space.
Reach Mark
Commissions, press, and parks or cities that want a giant toy can write to media@misfittoys.art or use the Connect form. Follow the builds on Instagram at @misfittoyscrew.