Pasaquoyanism: Eddie Owens Martin +Jonathan Frederick Walz +Gê Orthof

In 1957, a Georgia native returned to his family home near Buena Vista and began constructing one of the most significant art environments in the U.S. Eddie Owens Martin (1908–1986), the son of sharecroppers, created a world called “Pasaquan” and an elaborate new religion, of which he was the sole practitioner.

When Martin was in his twenties, voices in a fevered vision told him he was to become a “Pasaquoyan” named St. EOM and instructed him to depict a peaceful future for humanity. The home and seven acres he inherited became that depiction.

Martin built fences, pagodas, shrines, altars, walls, and walkways and embellished them with brightly painted totem faces, whirling mandalas, undulating snakes, and variously styled figures. All of it bears Martin’s perceptions of pre-Columbian Mexican temples and the fabled lost continents of Mu and Atlantis.

This was the first exhibition showing of Martin’s works that were recently gifted to the Arts Center by Kohler Foundation, Inc. Among them were paintings, sketches, and the artist’s ceremonial garb.

Jonathan Frederick Walz, director of curatorial affairs and curator of American art at The Columbus Museum, collaborated on the exhibition. Walz gave broader context to St. EOM’s art environment by positioning it with the work of Brazilian artist Gê Orthof, who also creates immersive, site-specific installations based on place and the sensorial reactions a place evokes.

In 2008, Pasaquan was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2013, the Kohler Foundation, Inc. embarked on an extensive restoration of the site. The stewardship of Pasaquan is under the direction of nearby Columbus State University. A small number of St. EOM’s works of art are stored, conserved, and placed in museum collections by Kohler Foundation to ensure survival in the event that a natural disaster might cause extensive damage at the site.