Marion C. Martinez

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Marion C. Martinez (born January 24, 1954) is a Chicana visual artist who repurposes discarded computer hardware in the production of her artwork. [1]

Contents

Biography

Martinez was born in Española, North of Santa Fe, New Mexico and was raised in Los Luceros. [1] While a college student, she lived near and worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. That experience inspires her work. [2]   As a trained psychotherapist, she worked closely with Hispanic and Native American families.

Art

Martinez began creating art with technology discards in the 1980s after experimenting with video art. Martinez's artwork portray traditional Latino cultural iconography. Much of her art, portray the Virgin de Guadalupe because of her deep connection to her. [3]

Martinez works in series or collections based on iconography. One series or collection presents the Virgen of Guadalupe icon. A second series or collection present the Sacred Heart or Milagros, which are icons typically used for healing. A third series or collection, Martinez titles, AzTechna. Icons in this series, present Martinez's interpretation of cultural legends and myth combined with contemporary technological materials. Martinez's work was featured in the 2022-2023 exhibit Fronteras del Futuro: Art in New Mexico and Beyond at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, [4] and her work is also part of the Center's permanent collection. [5]

Wearable Art

Martinez began creating wearable "Aztechna/TechnaCessories" in the 1990s, following the Santero traditional style she reconceptualizes in her artworks. [3] One collection shows her pins, which she coins as “TechnaCessories,” depicting Angels, buffalos, bears, and geckos. Another collection of pins includes Milagros (votive) and Corazońes Santos. A third collection depicts “Aztechnas” as a depiction of the hybrid imagery of the Indigenous people in New Mexico and Mexico with Olmec, Corn Dancers, and Long Ladies as designs. Aside from the pins, Martinez also makes bolo ties, money clips, pendants, and even Christmas ornaments.

References

  1. 1 2 Ramírez, Catherine S. (2019). "Deus ex Machina: Tradition, Technology, and the Chicanafuturist Art of Marion C. Martinez". In González, Jennifer A.; Chavoya, C. Ondine; Noriega, Chon; Romo, Terezita (eds.). Chicano and Chicana Art. Duke University Press. pp. 146–164. doi:10.1515/9781478003403. ISBN   9781478003403.
  2. ↑ Ramírez, Catherine S. (2020). "Afrofuturism/Chicanafuturism: Fictive Kin". In Noriega, Chon A.; Belcher, Wendy Laura; Villaseñor Black, Charlene (eds.). Autobiography without Apology: The Personal Essay in Chicanx and Latinx Studies. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press. pp. 47–54. ISBN   978-0-89551-173-7. OCLC   1158508144.
  3. 1 2 Lewthwaite, Stephanie (17 April 2013). "Reworking the Spanish Colonial Paradigm: Mestizaje and Spirituality in Contemporary New Mexican Art". Journal of American Studies . 47 (2): 339–355. doi:10.1017/s002187581300011x. ISSN   0021-8758. S2CID   145210818.
  4. ↑ "Fronteras del Futuro: Art in New Mexico and Beyond". National Hispanic Cultural Center . 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "El Sueño del Matachine". National Hispanic Cultural Center . Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2023.

• Martinez’s Website

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