ACAD | Fibre

 

Fine Looking Bunch of Women

pastel, this web etching, lithography on paper

Collection of Checotah Creek Indian Community

Bobby C. Martin

Bobby C. Martin, a painter, has many of the same ideas in his art work that I find in mine. He uses old family photographs to inspire his practice. Martin works mainly with oil paint, but also uses techniques such as encaustic, acrylic, block printing, and etching. Although our mediums are completely different our concepts are very much the same. In his artist statement he says:

“I base many of my works on photographs that belonged to my full blood Indian grandmother, my aunts, my mother—images found in shoeboxes, forgotten in the bottoms of drawers, or found among the tattered black pages of old leather-bound photo albums. The photographs have very personal meanings for me as the artist, but I have found also that there is an almost universal recognition among viewers of a sense of history and identity, evoking memories of their own family’s past.

My hope is for my art to become like an old family photograph—perhaps cherished, perhaps stuffed in a box in the attic—but always able to evoke memories every time it is viewed.”

Mom & Mary Ann (The Redhead)

oil and collage on canvas

48 x 72 in.

Sunday Best

oil on canvas

24 x 36 in.

Granny & Pa

oil on canvas

Courtesy Dr. J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Collection

 

I am drawn to Martin’s work because of his yearning to learn about his family, and himself. While creating new pieces, he says he is able to learn about the people within the photos. He says “it makes you really think about what they were like and what their lives were like.” With my work I try and do the same thing. I am a very family oriented person, and I think this is what drew me to the photographs in the first place. I have a yearning to find out about my ancestors, whether they be alive or passed away. I feel like if I am able to learn about them, I can in turn learn about myself.

 

References: http://www.bobbycmartin.com/Bobby_C._Martins_Art_Site.html

 

 

-Amy

 

 
thanks everyone for coming to the baby shower slash potluck for Tara. if you could not make it you missed out on a fun afternoon with good food, this site
good company, and good conversation! the baby basket for the adopt a family should still be available if anyone has anything to donate.