Week 9 - Chicana Futurism

Catherine S. Ramirez’s essay Deus ex Machina examines what is called “Chicana Futurism” specifically with reference to the art of Marion C. Martinez. 

Marion C. Martinez is an Indio-Hispanic artist who was born and raised in New Mexico. Her art, which features mixed-media sculptures of Catholic images often created with discarded computer hardware, was featured in Cyber Arte, an installation at the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. To get a better idea of the kind of work that was exhibited in this show, the subtitle “Tradition Meets Technology”  offers a great insight into how artists in this exhibition combined new technology and modes of creation with what might be considered “traditional” Mexcian/Hispano iconography. 

The work of Marion C. Martinez featured in Cyber Arte “underscore the effects of science and technology on New Mexico’s environment and people” (Ramirez, 152). These works, made with computer parts, wood, and other materials, are heavily inspired by Martinez’s surroundings. Martinez herself describes her art as “folk art” since she gathers materials and objects from around her in order to create. Change is often a theme highlighted in Martinez’s work, as well as the focus on cultural iconography such as Our Lady of Guadalupe and other holy personages. 

In her piece Oratorio a la Virgencita, she pictures La Virgen in an oratorio. This piece is constructed with wood and decorated with carved/painted lunette pieces, which is a feature of many New Mexican retablos. In this piece as well as many others, Martinez fuses traditional practices and methods of art making with contemporary materials and approaches. Ramirez notes that “Oratorio a la Virgencita shows how Martinez changes not only the materials she uses but also the subjects of her pieces” (Ramirez, 154). Surely, Martinez’s work fits into the canon of Chicana Futurism, as she combines both new and old technologies and cultural traditions to create new and interesting pieces