Victoria Martinez Highlights the Energy of Urban Sites Through Pattern, Color, and Site-Specificity

Olivia Clanton speaks to Victoria Martinez about the undiscovered value of urban

environments through a deep consideration and investigation of the re-purposed materials

used in her site-specific installations.

21st Place Mural, repeated revelations by Victoria Martinez. Image Courtesy of the Artist

Victoria Martinez brings attention to urban environments that are often overlooked through

vibrant fiber installations, that create moments of chance interaction with forgotten

architecture in Chicago. Martinez’s process begins with her own discovery and collection of

unique, discarded objects. These objects are material for large compositions realized

through collaging, stitch-work, printmaking, and painting techniques. The materials respond

to their new environment and inspire reflective moments on the relationship between place,

personal experiences with forgotten urban landscapes, and the undiscovered stories they

are holding inside. Martinez has exhibited at Northwestern University, Hyde Park Art Center,

Chicago Cultural Center, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, and Chicago

Artists Coalition. Upcoming projects include group exhibitions at the National Museum of

Mexican Art, Heaven Gallery, and the Franklin in Chicago.

Between Movements by Victoria Martinez. Image courtesy of the Artist

OLIVIA CLANTON: The materials further the narrative of their installation site. They tell

the story of the space, and symbolically, they help us imagine how its residue can be

used for its future, and how its history is necessary to understanding it. Once it all

comes together, what is the relationship between the materials you use in your work

and the space you install in?

VM: The materials that I utilize in my site-specific projects are from local establishments,

thrift stores, or variety shops in close proximity of the artwork. At times, since I’ve created a

relationship with certain people in the Pilsen community, where I grew up in Chicago, some

of these materials are also gifts. I use vibrant textiles and soft, household items that relate to

the spaces I work within order to channel the inspiration granted from my neighborhood. I

take many walks in Pilsen to study patterns that exist on the concrete walls, glass, and

advertisements. For me, it’s also exciting to combine this kind of stimulation with my personal

writing and poetry along with past travels to Latin America. These are observations and

studies of pattern and mark making that make it into my projects through combining paint

with fabric and other two-dimensional found materials. I thoughtfully collage and stitch these

objects together, remembering the things I’ve learned from the urban environment and I try to

deliver works of art that potentially allow the audience to experience pleasant remembrances

that are reminiscent of the everyday magic I find.

Untitled by Victoria Martinez Image courtesy of the Artist

OC: How do you use fiber and collaging processes to create visual narratives and

what do these visual narratives mean to the history its installed site? How do your

processes and your chosen materials lend itself to the interruptions you create for

others?

VM: In terms of the weaving I have created in the past, I incorporate materials including

grocery store plastic bags that say “Thank You”, vibrant yarn, strips of patterns I painted on

plastic tablecloth, which was inspired by nature, and scraps of my thrift store purchased

shorts. The weaving I’m referring to is sacred to me because the materials relate to my

beliefs of highlighting community spaces, moments of mystery, intuition, and desire of

learning about textile methods and history that inspires me to produce art. I also recently

visited Peru where I practiced weaving and dyeing techniques in the Sacred Valley this past

summer. I brought back the yarn wool that I dyed with flower and herbs and plan on creating

site-specific projects with the material.

OC: Thinking about the presence and roles of murals in Chicago, how is your work

informed by this? What connection exists between the objects you are using to the

disruption you create in public spaces?

VM: Some of my inspiration relates to Pilsen murals and graffiti because of its history,

organic forms, enticing color pallets, celebratory energy, and monumental scale. Although

fibers and public art are different media, I flirt with the idea that they coexist and work

poetically together. Fabric is a universal material that works well in most spaces and is a

significant resource in society.

I don’t see my artwork as an interruption. My artwork is an extension of the emotions

associated with memories related to the sites I respond to. Therefore, I buy materials near

the spaces I choose. I value soft and two-dimensional materials, which are accessible and

adaptable. These allow me to build dimension by stitching them together, often ending up

with a lot of texture and reminding me of the past histories I am honoring. My projects are

fragments of skin; raw in memory, nostalgia, and with the attempt of preserving my reasons

for being an artist. I work with domestic and feminine items that relate to my Mexican identity

because I love to explore and conserve the beauty of my culture and how significant it is to

society.

Untitled by Victoria Martinez Image courtesy of the Artist

OC: At times your work involves collaborating with people who live near the spaces

you create interventions for. In what ways do you involve participants in the gathering

of materials and the making process?

VM: Recently, I worked on a collaborative project titled “Traveling Minds,” with Benito Juarez

Community Academy youth, their art teacher Ms. Paulina Camacho, two elementary schools

in the Pilsen community, a youth center, and a group of mothers from the high school. We

created an 8-foot by 20-foot outdoor fiber installation at the National Museum of Mexican Art

in Chicago. I joined Ms. Camacho’s class as a Visiting Artist and together, as a collective, we

practiced fiber techniques including weaving, sewing, and embroidery. One way I

approached material selection in this project included surveying the group of high school

youth about what type of colors and materials they believed best represented them and their

community. I wanted the participants to deeply connect to the work and I believed that a

series of conversations about materials would make it a vibrant experience. When it comes

to making work independently for the public, I carefully study the colors and patterns that

exist in and on the urban environment. It’s one of my favorite things as an artist because I

see this process as a way for me to authentically respond to and create work for accessible

sites in the neighborhood.

This interview was edited and commissioned by the 2016-2017 Charlotte Street Curator in

Residence, Lynnette Miranda, in collaboration with Informality‘s for Issue 2: Digital Studio

Visits and the exhibition ¿Qué Pasa USA? at la Esquina Gallery (1000 West 25 Street

KCMO) open from November 18, 2016 through January 7, 2017. This interview was

originally published on http://collectivegap.info/