Martin Ramirez: Mexico, Motifs and Meaning

Brooke Davis Anderson, a 1984 Hartwick College graduate, lectured on Martin Ramirez, a self-taught artist. Anderson passionately spoke of the artist and the man that she has thoroughly researched and analyzed. It is apparent that she loves what she does by the way that she talks of her work. I felt her enthusiasm for this artist, not only for his intense life, but also his moving art.
He truly had an interesting life. Martin Ramirez was born in Mexico in 1895; he later married and began a family. Like many others of the time, he crossed the borders illegally to work in the United States. He worked for the railroads for awhile, but the Depression made working hard, while Ramirez’s friends returned to Mexico, he stayed. He was arrested for supposed erratic behavior and sent to an asylum. There he was recorded to be manic-depressive and paranoid schizophrenic. However it was during his stay in the asylum that he created his art.

Though his art is made of simple lines and design, the attention to detail is incredible. The paintings depict railroads, rolling hills, horse and rider, paths to Mexico, and images of the Virgin. His paintings seem almost child-like, yet every line is deliberately placed and the composition seems thoughtfully considered from the beginning. Considering that he was in an asylum at the time, his materials consisted of anything that he could find. Ramirez used a bread, mashed potato, and saliva glue to construct his large scrap paper drawings and then painted his design using a matchstick to apply the melted crayon. His art takes on another dimension when considering the materials he used and again, the deliberate process in which he created. He used tongue-depressors and bowls to execute his curvilinear forms.

He not only used the world around him to create his work, but most importantly his work embodies his world- Mexico, his religion, his dreams. He is thought to have created over 300 works of art and each of these works depicts an aspect of his life. He may have had mental disabilities, but they did not detract or deter his ability to create what Anderson said is, “first and foremost…great art”.

I was intrigued by Anderson’s remarks on the early analysis of the tunnel and train representing sexual exploration. It seems such an easy assumption, considering there are a large number of artists who include that aspect to their work. However, I found it refreshing that the train doesn’t represent a phallus, but simply a train and the tunnel, just a tunnel. I was incredibly impressed by Martin Ramirez’s work; it is simplistic in design, but utterly moving and complex in content. He drew from life, from memory, and created a curvilinear world that viewers can relate visually to their own memories. I have never been to Mexico, but I can fully comprehend the value and meaning of returning to home, to family.

Also, I found Brooke Anderson’s passion and excitement for Martin Ramirez infectious. I truly love to see people talk about topics that they obviously love. She captured my attention and made me very interested in the topic at hand. It is obvious that her success in her research of Ramirez stems from her whole-hearted approach and attention to discovering the artist within the art. She is a great example of successful Hartwick graduates.