kathryn e. martin: Artist in Residence at Kratzsch Conservancy

April 29, 2023  |  Topics: featured artist

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The Natural Realm presents kathryn e. martin, who is among 12 artists participating in a year-long residency program called ARTservancy, a collaboration between Gallery 224 in Port Washington and the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, River Revitalization Foundation, Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy, Tall Pines Conservancy, and Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory. The mission of ARTservancy is to promote the visionary work of both the artists and conservationists. Each artist has selected a preserve to spend time in and to engage with.

Artist Statement by kathryn e. martin

Beginning in January 2023, I have been taking weekly walks at The Kratzsch Conservancy and using them as inspiration to create what will ultimately be a 52-piece collection of found art/mixed media collage.

The first week was about me getting to know the land and understand what it was like to walk the path rather than view it on a map. I made rules for my practice. One was to walk the entire length in one direction and when I came back to the start, walk it in reverse. Another was to count my steps. (Answer: 3,464)

I was thinking of these weekly visits as a job, checking into this, and out of this. As if there was a punching of time, clocking into and out of work.

And in thinking along these lines, I was reminded that in my studio I have thousands of vintage computer time punch cards. I saw that the tone of the cards matched what I was seeing at Kratzsch, especially in the desiccated, bent stalks of cattails in the wetlands. I was always drawn to the formal and conceptual elements in the cards and just like that, they became my found objects for this study. I want to see how I can manipulate them, through visual inspiration received in my walks, to strong, successful 2D designs and compositions.

The intention is that I will have 52 framed pieces by the end of this year, one for each week.

My previous work consists primarily of installations that focus on observing everyday objects, spaces and histories, along with a concentration on formal characteristics. As at Kratzsch, I use found forms to make instinctive, calculated decisions to dissect, interpret, repeat and re-assemble inspired parts into new, often times immersive sculptural landscapes.

Gallery

Editor’s note: I normally don’t comment on an artist’s works when editing and posting these ARTservancy features, but I am happy to say that this work by kathryn e. martin has long been one of my favorite public art pieces in Milwaukee. Each of the three sculptural “chairs” bears the names of Indian tribes that once resided in the Milwaukee region, but who were pushed out by European colonial settlement. The sculptures symbolically give the tribes A Place to Sit again in the Menomonee Valley. (I am, I must admit, a biased observer. I served on the Public Art Committee of the Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail, who oversaw the commissioning of the work.) ~ Eddee Daniel

Bio

Working between the public and private realms, I engage material, space, and story with specificity and purpose.  

I am interested in the potential of the everyday, drawing from formal characteristics to make instinctive, calculated decisions that dissect, interpret, repeat and re-assemble inspiration into new landscapes and interactions that connect with each: place and audience. 

I work as Senior Lecturer and Recruitment Coordinator for The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s (UWM) Peck School of the Arts. I received a BFA in Sculpture from The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) in 2001, and an MA and MFA from UWM in InterMedia Studies in 2005 and 2007. 

Website: kathrynemartin.com

To learn more about Kratzsch Conservancy go to our Find-a-Park page.

This residency is sponsored by Ozaukee Washington Land Trust.

This is the latest in our series of featured artists, which is intended to showcase the work of photographers, artists, writers and other creative individuals in our community whose subjects or themes relate in some broad sense to nature, urban nature, people in nature, etc. To see a list of previously featured artists, click here. The work of the 2022-2023 ARTservancy artists in residence is currently being exhibited monthly at Gallery 224. To meet the other ARTservancy artists in residence, click here.

All images courtesy of the artist, except as noted. The featured photo at the top of kathryn e. martin at Kratzsch Conservancy is by Eddee Daniel. Ozaukee Washington Land Trust is a project partner of A Wealth of Nature.

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