Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Mexican-American Art on Stamps

The U.S. Postal Service is honoring self-taught Mexican-American artist Martin Ramirez (1895–1963) on a stamp sheet this month. 
Ramírez moved from Mexico to the United States in 1925, and after being diagnosed with schizophrenia in the early 1930s, spent the rest of his life as a patient in California psychiatric hospitals. There, Ramírez turned to art, creating some 500 pieces, some as large as 20 feet long.
His incredibly detailed work, which incorporates imagery from the artist's life in both Mexico and the United States, now is widely recognized for its unconventional, yet compelling draftsmanship, featuring figurative drawings often set in abstract, geometric settings. Ramírez worked primarily in crayon, but became interested in collage later in life.


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