The Gothic Times

Issue date: 11/25/09 Section: Art

Media Credit: Rossanna Villaflor Artwork from the late Jared Martin

Media Credit: Rossanna Villaflor Artwork from the late Jared Martin

During the late afternoon and early evening of October 19, family members, friends and members of the New Jersey City University campus community gathered for the opening reception of In/Out Up/Down Over/Under, a memorial exhibition for Jared Martin. The exhibition took place in the Gilligan Student Union Building gallery from October 19 to 23.

Jared Martin was the oldest of four siblings, an Art major and Gothic Times Art section editor before passing away in late August. The works that were shown varied in genres and disciplines. His work included illustrations, paintings, collages and print-making.

Anyone who walked in the gallery could tell that Jared was a young man of various interests; he lived and breathed art and nature, since childhood.

Lisa Martin, his mother, describes a simple drawing lesson at the kitchen table just before kindergarten one day.

"And that's when he came to me and said, 'Mom, I don't think I'm going to do well in kindergarten. I can't draw.' I guess that's what he thought kindergarten was all about, drawing."

Mrs. Martin taught young Jared how to draw and mentioned this in the exhibition's program, of which she was the author.

Nicole Contreras, Willa Goldthwaite and Laura Krapacher, classmates and good friends of Jared, were the organizers and curators of the exhibition.

"We put the show together [because] it was something that needed to be done," Krapacher stated. "We were really good friends with Jared and he deserved having a show; and I think his family deserved seeing his stuff up on walls."

Krapacher was pleased that such a large number of people came to the opening reception. Classmates and professors crossed Culver Avenue from the Visual Arts Building to attend.

The high turn-out also pleased Jared's family members.

"I'm very happy," said Wyatt, 17-year-old brother of Jared. "He had a lot of close friends and I think it's great that they all came out and supported him."

Robert Martin, Jared's father, noted the positive comments made about his son by the attendees.

"It seems like all the people that I've come in contact with all had a positive image of him and he had no enemies," Mr. Martin stated. "He didn't have arguments with people; he was just always friendly and accepting. I think he fit in here perfectly."

Since the Martin family's house in Old Bridge, New Jersey is surrounded by 1,200 acres of forest, nature plays a tremendous role in Jared Martin's body of work.

"We don't have any neighbors and our house is completely covered by woods," Mr. Martin said. "He would just go into the backyard and draw whatever he saw, like animals, deer, raccoon and stuff.

"And then trees, he used to draw trees. He used to take trees and paint them. It was all nature kind of stuff."

Mrs. Martin writes in the program for the exhibition, "Jared's bedroom was filled with books on Audubon, trees, deer and vegetarianism."

Nature was an obvious influence on Jared but Lisa, his mother, appeared to be his inspirational conduit. Her love for art and her passion for attending art museums had an obvious affect on her son.

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