Paper

2009.03

May Hariri Aboutaam

Gift

Gift of Mary Hariri Aboutaam

2008

15 in

20 in

Re-interpreting the Middle East II: Artists Re-thinking Today's Terminology (2009)

Cultural/Historical Context

Bearing Site Delita Martin Woodcut, 2008 Delita Martin is a multidisciplinary artist who works in the mediums of print, painting, textiles and mixed media currently based in Huffman, Texas. Her work is nationally and internationally recognized and is included in several major art collections including the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Martin has the local distinction of being a Purdue Graduate, having earned her MFA in printmaking in 2009. She is also the founder of the Black Box Press Studio and Foundation which seeks to support artists through exhibition grants, amplifying their talent to effect social and political change. Through her own work, Martin endeavors to offer new perspectives of marginalized women, reconstructing Black female identities through the visual language of signs and symbols. Bearing Site connects the female figure and symbols, visually communicating insight, strength, and birth. Female figures have always dominated my work, often accompanied by objects, usually domestic in nature. Objects, patterns, and symbols have become increasingly prevalent and important in the evolvement of my works, creating a visual language specific to my interpretation of the world around me. The commonality of these objects allows a dialogue to take place between the viewer and the artwork itself. The bowl is a symbol of the womb as it is used to carry, nourish, and birth. In my work, the bowl is used to demonstrate the transition, birthing the female figure into a spiritual realm. The female figures’ eyes are highlighted as a reminder that human beings have a dual existence viewed as one body. Her head wrap establishes a space in her identity and in transition she sheds that head wrap in becoming. My process of layering with symbols and objects creates a holding space where identities converge, creating a filter for interpretation and altering narratives for women of color. Delita Martin, Artist

Cultural/Historical Context

" Artist Biography Delita Martin received her BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University.  After working as an independent artist, Delita returned to school to obtain a MFA in Printmaking from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She has taught basic drawing and Printmaking at Purdue. She is currently teaching Intro to Visual arts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  Delita has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She is currently working on a series of work addressing the reconstruction of identity through the use of personal symbolism."