Frank Toby Martin

Artist's Statement


"The Alpha Phi Omega of life is a total of experiences and vision of things that are, and of things to come. Respecting the population of form is always started by respecting the one element first.

Loyalty, tenure, race and faith are driving forces that shape my selections for creative output. Family, children and hope are lasting legacies that I wish to improve on through my life as a sculptor who uses his ability to construct and manipulate materials toward an image. That image becomes an answer for my thoughts, which become tangents that follow a spiritual time line that is never ending. I hope for the betterment of our society and I contribute my offerings with sincere actions."

Sculptor and associate professor of art Frank Toby Martin's passion for art spans nearly fifty years. His provocative work, which often intertwines freedom and spiritual discovery, graces the Spelman campus but can be seen throughout the South. One piece, "Music of Love Elevates the Soul," a stainless steel sculpture from Martin's latest collection, was accepted into the LaGrange National XXVII Biennial, and will be on view through April. The juried competition, open to all artists in the United States, is sponsored by the Lamar Dodd Art Center of LaGrange College and the LaGrange Art Museum.

Biographical Sketch
Retrieved From Hammonds House Gallery Website

Frank Toby Martin was born in 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida. Sunday school, discipline, community activities, and sports shaped his childhood. All modeled into a family who supported individual development.

Martin's passion for the arts began while playing in his grandfather's dump as a child. For Martin this place was more than the final destination for others discarded items, this was architecture, sculpture, music, and photography. It was here in his grandfather's material landscape, that he perceived the meaning of form, light, space, and shape. It was also here where he realized that things that normally would not go together could come together as one to create masterpieces.

Martin arrived in Atlanta, Georgia in 1972. It was here that his development as a sculptor began to root itself within the infusion of southern charm, revolution, and segregation. As a sculptor he felt compelled to expose his visions for critical review in order to see his truths lead to wisdom and wisdom to justice.

After receiving his Bachelors of Arts from Morehouse College in 1976, in 1986 Martin went on to attain his MFA degree from Georgia State University , through their sculpture program. His thesis was entitled, Form From My Spirit in a Three Dimensional World.

Throughout Frank Toby Martin collections, there is a constant pursuit of spiritual discovery. His work reflects his being responsible for something and someone, which coincides with his responsibilities as not only an African American man but as a husband and father as well. According to Martin, it is his work that strengthens his existence, rather than his financial holdings. Martin feels that although money is important, it should not be the inspiration to any artist. "I want to leave with a free spirit...I don't want to be trapped by financial slavery" said Martin.

Intertwined through Martin's art is the pursuit of freedom. Freedom obtained through his spirituality, gives him the power to make his own decisions regarding artistic expression. "My sense of direction is based upon my love for freedom" according to Martin this sense of freedom allows him to take his art in many directions. As he states, "one must stay open...be willing to explore different options." He is additionally influenced greatly by the Dogon, tribe of Mali West Africa. The underlying principal of the Dogon can be found in the ideology that we live in an ever-evolving universal womb; the ultimate freedom from which comes through physical transformation (death) into metaphysical transformation (resurrection).

 

 

Frank Toby Martin Resume