Abstract art mixes with social commentaries
Latina artist Soraida Martinez celebrates Hispanic Heritage with truth-telling exhibit
Tai Shadrick
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Dr. Phyllis Freeman, director of the Women's Center, said Martinez's visit is an example of the kind of innovative entertainment campus organizations bring to the University.
"Throughout the years, the Women's Center and other departments bring speakers, artists, musicians and dancers to expose students to a diverse range of experiences," she said.
"In four years at TU, you can hear famous authors and get the opportunity to see some of the most profound art. It's simply for students to keep their eyes and ears open and be able to try something new."
Freeman said the Women's Center tries to bring in people who have an important message they wish to convey to female college students.
"Both the students and I keep our eyes and ears open for interesting artists," she said. "You go with one person or another for what they stand for. We're interested in the voices of women. It doesn't matter whether the voices speak through art, music or dance."
Martinez's voice has gained a lot of attention in the art world, including a spot on the board of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
"She's had exhibitions at colleges and universities up and down the Northeast," Freeman said. "She's appeared in numerous magazines and news articles about her art."
Martinez, who Freeman said has about 20 pieces in her exhibition, will speak for 10 to 15 minutes at the reception and answer questions from the audience.
Freeman said the Women's Center invited her to display her exhibit because she tackles issues that are of concern to women such as domestic violence and breast cancer.
"[Martinez is] an innovator and a social activist," she said. "She takes tough issues and expresses her experiences.
"By virtue of this, she gives viewers the opportunity to look through the lens of art and see what's reflected about our feelings and differences."
Martinez, whose parents grew up in Puerto Rico, was born in 1956 and raised in Harlem.
She received her MFA from Rowan University and also holds a liberal arts degree in psychology. She is considered the founder of Verdadism, which means truth telling.
Verdadism is based on two components -- the visual component and the written commentary. Martinez's hard-edge abstract paintings use bold, striking colors to accommodate the first component.
The written commentaries are displayed next to the paintings, expressing Martinez's personal feelings toward the particular subject.
Her works are based on a variety of issues derived from personal experiences, including sexism, racism and stereotyping.
Some of Martinez's work's include: "Labeling is Social Lynching," "Rage: It's My Body" and "Please Stop Calling Us Minorities! We All Know That's an Unfair Label With Negative Connotations."
Freeman said Martinez integrates her life experiences into her art, which is why the works in "Verdadism" are more than paintings on canvas -- they are social statements.
"Every time [Martinez] paints a picture, she's also painting commentaries on social issues that we all face on a day-to-day basis," she said.
"Martinez expresses feelings about growing up where issues of gender, race and class are lightning rods for controversy, stereotypes and discrimination."
In addition to Martinez's visit for Hispanic Heritage Month, the Latin American Student Organization will host the annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration Oct. 9 from 11 to 3 p.m. in the Potomac Lounge and the Office of Diversity Resources will present storyteller and poet Bobby Gonzalez's "Tales from the American Holocaust" Oct. 10 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Chesapeake Room III.
The opening reception for "Verdadism" will take place today from 2 to 4 p.m.
Refreshments will be served and there will also be musical entertainment from guitarist Magdalena Duhagon and flutist Delandria Mills of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.
The exhibit runs throughout the month of October in the Women's Center, University Union Room 311.
