By Cynthia Jessup
Former artist-in-residence at the U.S. Army Center of Military History, Martin J. Cervantez was responsible for capturing the Army’s achievements and experiences during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2008 and Haiti in 2010. When he joined the Workhouse as resident artist, he took on the Service Member Community Arts Partnership and Exchange.
What are the duties of resident artist/military illustrator?
I work with the Warrior Writers program and Combat Paper [two programs for veterans of war to promote healing and creativity]. I also foster exhibits and curate the exhibit here titled Warrior Way.
How do your depictions capture the true essence of war and military work?
It’s basically creating a dialogue with others who may not be exposed to it. When creating the art [I ask], “How do you express the crappy conditions out in the middle of nowhere? What does it look like in the back of an aircraft?” With the storytelling devices, people make connections with the work, and they start telling stories.
What is the running theme of your works?
My work is based on my experiences when I was out in the desert. While I was the resident artist for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, I documented history based on my experiences and collecting images with a sketchbook and camera. I create images universal to the military and ambiguous to things such as gender or branch, to have everyone experience the life of soldier and for those having been in that situation before.
Martin Cervantez’s collection will be on display until April 17 at the Workhouse Arts Center.
(April 2016)
