Spotlight on Artist Milo Martinez

Welcome to The Elective’s digital art museum, dedicated to the incredible work of AP Arts students. Each week we highlight a work or series created in one of the AP Arts concentrations—AP 2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design, and AP Drawing (the AP Program also offers Art History and Music Theory)—as well as a statement from the artist (and, occasionally, their teacher).

This week we feature an acrylic-and-fiberglass work made by Milo Martinez from East High School in Denver, Colorado, which was included in the 2019-20 AP Studio Art online exhibition. (You’ll find the exhibition halfway down the page, under the heading AP Exhibit.)

Here’s Milo’s statement on the work:

This art piece is taken from the Breadth section of my student portfolio and is an abstract political commentary on the armed conflict in the Donbass region of Ukraine. The piece critiques Russian intervention in the area, and therefore I drew upon themes of abandonment and conflict to express this idea. I used muted grays contrasted with reds to demonstrate the more chaotic mood of the piece. I also utilized harsh mark-making and broken fiberglass to further this tone of conflict. The Russian word forms I also used are there for appearance as well as message, as they directly translate to “criminal”, highlighting an important theme. Although I have not experienced the conflict expressed in my piece, I felt a need to express the issues present there, as awareness is key in bringing this issue to a larger global focus. I revised often with this piece, as I wanted the emotions present within it to be understood on a simple first glance. My hope is that my art is able to express these themes of conflict and desperation effectively, even if the political commentary is not fully grasped on a first impression.