GALLERY GUIDE
BROKEN TIME
SCULPTURE BY MARTIN PAYTON
ADMISSION DESK
LISTEN
2
Pull out your device and headphones, then open our Spotify playlist to hear songs selected by Martin Payton that inspire works on display. Visit bit.ly/martinpayton to listen.
DRAW
Pick up a clipboard and use the white color pencil to draw the lines and curves you see in the sculpture. Hang your “drawing in space” on the yellow wall.
FEEL
Feel the bends, twists, and worn areas of these found metal fragments on the wall taken from Martin Payton’s studio.
SCULPT
Use magnets and metal hardware to compose a sculpture. This activity is intended for ages 7+ with parental guidance.
LISTEN DRAW
RESTROOMS SCULPT
FEEL
INSTALLATION Payton sees this installation as a “dense pack that references the human and mineral resources from Africa that allowed the development of the American Dream.” What do these fragments—the chains, railroad ties, shovel— make you think of? Dr. Eloise Johnson sees the installation as “a mélange of mismatched objects strung out on the floor like possessions that have been destroyed in a flood and washed ashore... echoes of Katrina or Africans during the transatlantic voyage. The shape of the African continent is outlined by a large chain suggestive of slavery.” She explains that the center vertical element “references the iconic headdress of the Oba, the ruler of the Yoruba tribe in Africa. The divine gaze of a Yoruba king is deadly to his subjects. Therefore, the face of the king is covered during ceremonies by a beaded veil, the iboju, attached to the rim of the crown.”
PLEASE NOTE: While we have several interactive elements in the exhibition, the sculptures and this installation piece should not be touched. Thank you for your cooperation. 3
TIMELINE 1948
Martin Payton born March 16 in New Orleans, Louisiana
1966
Payton graduates St. Augustine High School in New Orleans
1968
Payton enters Xavier University to study art; meets John T. Scott John T. Scott and Martin Payton became close colleagues and collaborators. Scott taught Payton oxyacetylene welding, and it was a trip to a scrap yard with Scott that inspired Payton to pursue sculpture and learn arc welding.
1970
Marries first wife, Lorraine Thomas Payton drafted into Army, serves as MP in Germany for two years
1972
Payton graduates Xavier University with BFA Daughter Marissa is born
1976
Payton graduates Otis Art Institute with MFA Moves back to New Orleans to teach art at Xavier University
1980
Takes arc welding course, completes first sculpture soon after
1981
Son Jabari is born
1981–1985
Teaches K–6th grade art in Orleans and Jefferson Parish schools
1986
Accepts art faculty position at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Florida
1990
Completes commission for the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
1991
Accepts art faculty position at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2000
Marries MaPo Kinnord
2002
Completes Spirit House public sculpture with John T. Scott Spirit House is located at the intersection of St. Bernard Avenue, Gentilly Boulevard, and DeSaix Boulevard, historically known as the DeSaix Circle.
2005 2011 4
Moves studio to Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina Retires from Southern University
PROCESS WELDING AS ART Welding with pressurized gases, such as oxyacetylene, was in invented in 1903, but not used to create artwork until the 1920s. The first welded steel sculpture was completed by Julio González in collaboration with Picasso in the mid-1920s. González’s sculpture soon inspired American sculptor David Smith to adopt welded sculpture in 1933.
Want to learn more? Look up artists who influenced Martin Payton’s work: Julio Gonzalez, David Smith, and Melvin Edwards.
OXYACETYLENE WELDING VERSUS ARC WELDING
In oxyacetylene welding, a torch is used to heat two pieces which are joined with a melted filler metal. It is a better method for cutting, but not for joining the large I-beams Payton used in his early work.
Arc welding uses a powerful electric current which liquefies metal immediately. Payton prefers this method for its immediacy and strength, and because it does not involve a filler material—only the two pieces with which he is working.
WHAT’ S WITH THE BLACK? It’s not paint, but a patina. Patina is a sheen applied to metal sculptures to protect them from oxidation (rust.) Payton uses a black patina. IMAGES: Top: Martin Payton in his studio. Photo by David Humphreys. Bottom left: Martin Payton, Jack of Diamonds (detail), 2000, welded steel, 83 x 36.5 x 31 inches. Bottom right: Martin Payton, Mali Andante (detail), 2009, welded steel, 35 x 16 x 16 inches. 5
MUSICAL HOMAGE EUGENE “JUG” AMMONS, also known as “The Boss,” was a jazz tenor saxophonist from Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN WILLIAM COLTRANE, also known
as “Trane,” was an jazz saxophonist and composer originally from Hamlet, North Carolina. Coltrane was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 2007 for his impact on the genre.
RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK was an jazz
multi-instrumentalist originally from Columbus, Ohio. Kirk was known for the ability to play multiple instruments simultaneously and inspired musicians like Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. These are just a few of the jazz musicians who inspire the work of Martin Payton. Get your own inspiration through jazz with our Spotfiy playlist selected by Payton himself at bit.ly/martinpayton.
KEITH JARRETT is a
jazz and classical pianist from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
JOHN LESLIE “WES” MONTGOMERY
was a jazz guitarist from Indianapolis, Indiana. Montgomery is widely considered to be one of the major influential jazz guitarists to this day. 6
RECURRING SYMBOLS THE CHI WARA The chi wara is an antelope figure that represents the spirit that taught humans agriculture. The chi wara is an important symbol for the Bamana people of West in Africa. Antlers, which were used to dig into the earth to cultivate the land, are a defining feature in representations. Chi wara masks are worn by male and female dancers for seasonal celebrations of fertility. The chi wara is depicted in Chucho (at right). Can you find three other sculptures depicting an antelope figure?
THE CIRCLE According to professor and catalog essayist Joyce M. Jackson, “Payton often improvises by manipulating the circle, the core shape that permeates his work. Payton claims, ‘The circle is everything,’ while pointing to areas of his work that allude to the traditional cosmogram and its representation of birth, life, death, and rebirth—circles, he suggests, are the same thing.” How many circles do you see throughout the exhibition?
IMAGES: Top: Martin Payton, Chucho, 2008, welded steel, 64 x 26 x 30 inches. Bottom: Martin Payton, Griot, 1997, welded steel, 92 x 23 x 16 inches.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MARTIN PAYTON AND HIS WORK? Visit the LSU Museum Store to pick up a fully-illustrated, 64-page exhibition catalog featuring essays by LSU MOA Curator Courtney Taylor; LSU Professor and Director, African & African American Studies Program, Dr. Joyce Jackson, Southern University retired art historian Dr. Eloise Johnson, and New Orleans poet, editor, and music producer Kalamu ya Salaam. Generous support for this publication provided by Robert T. and Linda H. Bowsher and Louisiana CAT. 7
PROGRAMS BROWN BAG LUNCH November 1, 2017, 12–1 p.m. LSU Museum of Art, Third floor Bring your lunch to the third floor conference room as LSU MOA curator Courtney Taylor, leads an informal discussion on Martin Payton and the work on display in Broken Time. Free.
CONTEMPORARIES STUDIO TOUR WITH MARTIN PAYTON November 5, 2017, 3–5 p.m. Martin Payton’s Studio Exclusive to Contemporaries only plus one guest. Visit the studio of Baton Rouge-based sculptor Martin Payton while enjoying a specialty beer created by members of the Brasseurs a la Maison homebrewing club. RSVP at lsumoacontemporaries.eventbrite.com. Join the Contemporaries here: www.lsumoa.org/contemporaries *Studio location will be available to those who RSVP for the tour.
THIRD THURSDAY November 17, 2017, 6–8 p.m. LSU Museum of Art, Sixth floor Join us for live jazz and a rooftop rum tasting with Cane Land Distilling Company. In addition to enjoying music and cocktails with a view, attendees will have the opportunity to create their own interpretation of Martin Payton’s improvisational sculptures. Attendance is free for Contemporaries, $5 for members, students and faculty with ID, and $10 for general public.
IMAGES: Page 4: Photos courtesy Arts Council of New Orleans. Page 6: Eugene “Jug” Ammons photo: http://bit. ly/2z1cvBm Sculpture: Martin Payton, Ammons, 2004, welded steel, 42 x 42 x 27 inches. John William Coltrane photo: http://bit.ly/2yFWqF9 Sculpture: Martin Payton, Night Trane, 2004, welded steel, 43 x 16 x 36 inches. Rahsaan Roland Kirk photo: http://bit.ly/2yhAyyP Sculpture: Martin Payton, Rahsaan, 2004, welded steel, 68 x 54 x 56 inches. Keith Jarrett photo: http://bit.ly/2ycPQmr Sculpture: Martin Payton, Jarrett, 2004, welded steel, 52 x 42 x 20 inches. John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery photo: http://bit.ly/2i2Q7nZ Sculpture: Martin Payton, Wes, 2004, welded steel, 55 x 48 x 28 inches. Generous support for this exhibition is provided by The Imo N. Brown Memorial Fund in memory of Heidel Brown and Mary Ann Brown, Louisiana CAT, the L. Cary Saurage II Fund, and Robert T. and Linda H. Bowsher.
ON THE COVER Martin Payton, Night Trane (detail), welded steel.
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