Martyr—from the archives

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD
Although I am now an agnostic, I grew up catholic in Mexico, where there is a fascination with the gory depiction of martyrdom. You might be exposed to the torn skin and exposed vertebrae of Christ on the column, St. Lucy with empty eye sockets and her eyes on a little silver plate, or the bloody body of St. Sebastian riddled with arrows.
In 1998 Matthew Sheppard, a normal college kid from an unimportant small town in middle America, was picked up at a bar by two men, beaten, and left to die in the countryside. His mother, Judy Shepard, has since been a passionate speaker for gay rights and anti-bullying measures. At the same time, the Catholic Church, led by Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has made a crusade against gays and lesbians a central part of Vatican agenda. This 2007 piece, depicting this young man covered in blood with exposed clean skin only where his tears have washed the blood away, with the attributes of martyrdom, is a modest effort to change the narrative while keeping the gory tradition of icons alive.

M. Shepard '98—2007
7.5 cm x 10.2 cm
Acrylic and metal leaf on maple wood

Ten Lives

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD
This is a piece I did recently using original want ads looking to buy and sell slaves, and capture fugitives. I am an avid collector of old engravings, and I found several that illustrated each of the clips, including the center image of the piece, from Godey's lady's book, ca. 1845. On the whole, the images seem idyllic, and the piece itself is similar to some 1890's crafts I've seen at auction, but each little image contains an insurmountable amount of violence, in the form of ten lives that were never free to run themselves.

Ten Lives—2010
43 cm x 58 cm
Antique engravings, gold leaf, newspaper clippings (ca. 1780-1840), glass and wood.

Happy Chrismukkah!

Art Director, Designer, Illustrator: Gil Martinez, RGD

The Gold Tooth

Art Director, designer, illustrator: Gil Martinez, RGD
This is part of a personal project—a series of CD-sized images each dealing with a specific genre of Mexican music. This one deals with "NarcoCorridos", a type of folk song that is based on people and events surrounding the drug trade in the US-Mexico border.

Travel Labels, redux

Designer: Gil Martinez, RGD
A few years ago I made some labels for Yankee Magazine. I have recently retaken the project, and have been busy giving the labels a more weathered look. I am doing some new ones, too. Updates to follow...

Babel

Illustrator/Calligrapher: Gil Martinez
Technique:Watercolour, gold leaf, pen and ink over parchment.

This piece, now in a private collection, displays each of the genesis verses dealing with the myth of the tower of Babel in a different language. The piece takes cues from medieval architecture rendering in manuscripts, and calligraphic faces were selected to complement each individual language.

Narcissus

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD

I made this in 2008, as an excuse to play with the new ultra-fine pigment markers that replace the rapidograph. The man is so vain he is constantly looking at himself to make sure nothing is out of place, and in the process, misses the paradise in which he finds himself.



Narcissus—2008
26 cm x 36 cm
Pen and ink on paper

The Erinyes

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD
For this piece I used original fashion engravings (circa 1885), japanese origami paper, watercolours, and metallic inks. The Erinyes (or the furies) were personifications of the anger of the dead. The piece explores the objectification of women through trends. In the XIXth century they strangled themselves with corsets. Today, they starve themselves to death. Fashion is a tool of oppression.

The Erinýes—2009
12.5 cm x 17 cm
Antique engravings, origami paper, watercolour and metallic paint on paper, glass and wood.

Holy Shit (Hogs Get Piggy)

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD

This piece was made last year, and it explores the generic divas gay men worship, as well as the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. The frame is an antique silver icon casing, and the images are taken directly from popular magazines and old porn.

Holy Shit (Hogs, Get Piggy)—2009
13.5 cm x 17 cm
Magazine photos, vintage porn, antique silver icon casing.

Venus

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD
I made this little piece two years ago, and it spawned the desire to explore a new illustration style. Stay tuned for updates as I develop it. This piece sports an original circa 1850 engraving, an antique mirror, some handmade and hand printed paper, and metallic paint.


Venus—2008
19.7 cm x 19.7 cm
Antique engravings, watercolour, and gold leaf on paper, plain and mirrored glass, and vintage frame.

Construction #1 (personal work)

Artist: Gil Martinez, RGD
I've been hard at work developing a new illustration style which will combine my drawings (Like the Tighty Whitey poster I made recently for PWA) with my collage work. This is my latest—using original 1840's fashion plates, a vintage niche I bought at an outdoors antique market, and old porn.


Whores3 (Babylon)—2010
18.5 cm x 31 cm
Antique engravings, vintage porn, paper, silk, painted plaster statue, rolled paper, wood veneer, antique niche.

Family Tree (1998)

Designer/Illustrator: Gil Martinez
Technique: Photocollage

This family tree was created using Adobe Photoshop and incorporates old photographs, family heirloom jewelry, and fabric remnants from old family furniture, all scanned on a conventional desktop scanner.