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Michael Marínez is a Xicano artist born, raised and re-delivered to San Antonio, Tejas, as a visual, performance and installation artist. His work has evolved from prissy-sissy to community organizing “Diva.” Coming of age during the AIDS War of the 1980’s – the pandemic that devastated a generation – Michael served as a founding member of Act-Up Austin. His service in ACT UP as a Tactical Performance Director, focused mostly on demonstrations at the Texas State Capitol, informed his ever-present propagandist nature. Then one night, on crowded 6th Street in Austin, Mr. Marínez was attacked in a gay-bashing by fifteen boys/young men, which moved him on a course that would be a persistent theme of his work for the next 25 years.
Acknowledging the need and importance of being an out gay man, Mr. Marinez returned to San Antonio to work in inner-city communities of the East-, South- and West-sides. Working with inner-city youth, gang members, youthful offenders, people living with AIDS, and the working poor, he has developed his craft as a cultural worker and educator combining multi-issue social justice organizing with artistic expression.
In 2004, Michael came home to San Antonio as caregiver to his brother Jon-Jon – who succumbed to his battle with AIDS in 2007 – and to his mother Anna Marie Marinez (1924-2015). Finally and ultimately, Michael is the sixth child of eight indios of Anne-Marie and Joe, the one who was to become a priest, the quiet boy ... view more »
Resume (PDF)
Work Samples (PDF)
Ophelia - Hudson River, Upstate New York (2023)
Ophelia - Bus Stop (2022), Swimming Pool (2023), Rio Grande (2023)
Community Altar - El Westside (2022, 2023)
Community Altar - El Westside (2022, 2023)
Community Collaborations - San Antonio AIDS Foundation (2018), Eva's Heroes (2018), On/Off Fred Road
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Artist Style: Teaching Artist/Instructor: Workshop Presenter; Visual Art: Conceptual, Contemporary, Site-Specific, Social Commentary
Artist Medium: Aluminum; Bronze; Clay; Colored Pencil; Earth; Fiber/Fabric; Gold Leaf; Photography
Artist Statement of Work
Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):
HECHO EN SAN QUILMAS:
Michael Marínez, born, raised and re-delivered to San Antonio, Tejas, is a visual artist, installation artist, cultural worker, activist, and performance artist (in remission). Through his work with the folk and gente in his hometown, Michael has come to love and respect the stories, the spirit, and the memories shared by his people. For him, these are embodied in the idea of “San Quilmas,” the other identity of San Antonio as shared by elders. San Quilmas is for them the cultural, social, and spiritual heart of San Antonio’s past, and thus has the power to mend, to heal, to give joy and bring hope for its future.
Through his journey, Michael has come to understand the importance of memory, the value of ritual, the joy of process, the spirit of craft, the beauty of gardens, the endless lives of simple materials. These basic discoveries inform and transform his work. It is through these lenses that sugar-coated pansies become the bodies of young men lost to the AIDS pandemic; where yarn and broomsticks tell stories of the journey; where kites fashioned from recycled aluminum cans embody unanswered prayers; where ojos de dios regain their true meaning as gifts of blessing from parent to newborn child; where AZT strung into necklaces become the precious jewels of a new generation.
¡Qué Viva San Quilmas! ¡Qué Viva San Antonio!
Culturally Specific Art Category
Select Culturally Specific Art Category:: Hispanic or Latino/a/x
