Steppin' Out

Cover Story

'Untitled (Horse and Rider)' is one of nearly 100 drawings by Mart’n Ram’rez on display at the San Jose Museum of Art.

Fresh Perspective

By Heather Zimmerman

Van Gogh's genius wasn't properly recognized until after his death; the genius of artist Martín Ramírez may have been recognized, but until recently, only in a very limited way.

"Martín Ramírez" offers a broader view of the artist's unique drawings, and an array of new information about his life. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Mexican Heritage Plaza and the San Jose Museum of Art. "Martín Ramírez" is showing at both venues through Sept. 9, with a retrospective of Ramírez's works at the San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St., San Jose, and an extensive biographical exhibit about Ramírez at the Mexican Heritage Plaza, 1700 Alum Rock Road, San Jose.

Ramírez, who died in 1963 at the age of 68, created about 300 drawings during his time at DeWitt State Hospital, a Northern California mental hospital, where he spent the last 15 years of his life. Psychologist and artist Dr. Tarmo Pasto, who knew Ramírez at DeWitt, encouraged his art and helped bring his works to the attention of the art world. However, Ramírez's art has always been viewed largely in the context of his mental illness, which itself now may be somewhat in question.

"Martín Ramírez" features 97 works on paper by Ramírez and explores the drawings simply as works of art, delving into--among other aspects--their symbolism and subject matter, much of which is evocative of Ramírez's native Mexico, but also taps into images from American pop culture. The art section was curated by Brooke Davis Anderson of New York's American Folk Art Museum.

Scholar and Northwestern Ph.D. candidate Victor Espinosa, who has devoted much of his career to researching Ramírez, curated the biographical portion of the exhibit at the Plaza. It features photographs, artifacts and more that illuminate much that was previously unknown or incorrectly believed about Ramírez's life, including information about his family in Mexico.

Admission to the exhibit at the Mexican Heritage Plaza is free.
For more information, call 408.928.5563 or visit www.mhcviva.org. San Jose Museum of
Art admission is $8 adults/$5 students and seniors. For more information, call 408.271.6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.