The Mark Bradford ProjectMark "Scrapdaddy" Bradford

Mark Bradford was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and settled in Houston, Texas at the age of eight. Citing his inventor great-grandfather and his fascination with a local Louisiana steel plant as early sources of inspiration, Bradford dedicated himself to the craft of welding and metalworking shortly after high school. Initially taking welding classes at Houston Community College, much of Bradford’s experience with artmaking has been self-taught and experimental. During his time at HCC, Bradford became involved with the Houston Art Car Parade; in subsequent decades, Bradford became one of the most celebrated annual participants in the parade for his large scale scrap-based kinetic works, including bipedal characters such as Mr. Green, which was created for the 2012 parade. 

Bradford was given the nickname “Scrapdaddy” early in his career due to his sourcing of sculptural materials from local scrapyards in the Houston area. Making use of a wide range of unique found materials––hundreds of metal spoons acquired from American Airlines after they were deaccessioned post-9/11, for example––Bradford has created figural metal sculptures which evoke a range of organic textures, including creatures with scales, hair, musculature, teeth, and whiskers. In addition to annual performances in the Art Car Parade, Bradford’s sculpture has been exhibited at the Beeville Museum of Art, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, and at the Houston Art Car Museum, and has been featured on several television shows, including Battle Bots, Junkyard Wars, Guinness Primetime Live, and Scrapyard Scavengers.

Working at a handful of workshop studio sites during his decades as a sculptor, Bradford established the nonprofit Mark Bradford Project with longtime artistic collaborator David Miller in 2021. Built on a former dump site in the Independence Heights neighborhood of Houston, the site houses hundreds of works by both Bradford and Miller and hosts individual tours, class visits, and workshop opportunities for those interested in learning about metalworking from Bradford. Between 2021 and 2024, Bradford used substantial mounds of dirt which had been dumped on the site in preceding decades to create a topography of rolling hills at the environment—artworks are installed along twisting pathways in the yard amidst a variety of plants reclaimed from a local landscaping business’ trash pile. While the long term future of the site in Independence Heights is currently under dispute by the land owners, Bradford currently welcomes visitors for tours of his work and can be contacted directly through his website. 

Narrative by Gabrielle Christiansen, 2024

Gabrielle Christiansen

525 Marcella Street
Houston, Texas, 77091
Latitude/Longitude: 29.8452539 / -95.4075013

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