Punched Tin Frames and Poet Laureate Public Art Project

Punched Tin Artist Michael Worthen collaborated with Anna C. Martinez.

When I opened the attachment with Anna’s poem, my eye was immediately drawn to the word “watermelon” in the title, and I had no doubt that her written words would speak to the heart and soul of Albuquerque. Anna and I were immediately in sync to showcase the Sandias at the bottom of the punched tin frame, adding the rays of sun above to represent our New Mexico sky that transforms the everchanging canvas backdropping our city each sunset.  Our final nod was adding a small Zia to pay homage to our state.  Anna had the vision to place the Zia partially risen over the mountain top, as sunset approaches, and we pause.

Punched Tin Artist Richard Gabriel Jr. collaborated with Mary Oishi.

I chose to take part in this project because I love taking the traditional art of New Mexican tin working and bring its wonderfully delicate elements into a more contemporary setting. I also consider it part of my responsibility as a tin worker to expose this historic art form to the public – that way I’m ensuring the art of New Mexican tin work continues into the future. After discussing the poem “Galaxy Albuquerque” with author Mary Oishi, she told me she wrote the poem while in her home in the heights of Albuquerque that overlooks the city lights at night. I thought the best way to represent this was through different vignettes that represented certain lines of the poem along with a representation of the Albuquerque skyline and an outline of Sandia peak. To depict night time, I chose a crescent moon and a plethora of stars, all punched and three dimensional. Together we agreed that these elements would best represent the poem and also paid homage to the traditional elements of New Mexican tin working.