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Pasaquan Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MC 327

Scope and Contents

The textual material and the works of art on paper comprise 3 boxes and several drawers of flat files. Besides his sketchbooks and loose drawings, there are letters, receipts, notes, postcards and other items relating to Eddie O. Martin, or St. EOM as he styled himself. The Pasaquan textual materials are divided into four series; Correspondence, Financial Records, Publications and Audio/Visual. Correspondence deals with his art and its exhibition and sale, as well as family and personal matters. Included here are letters to his brother Joe, a note from first lady Rosalyn Carter about an exhibit of Martin's art in Washington in 1978, and letters from people seeking his fortune-telling expertise and bestowal of luck in various situations. There is a separate folder for his medical issues, including medical bills, prescriptions and his organ donor card. There are also letters concerning photographs and slides of his house, grounds and artwork. In most cases the images are not with the letters but are probably among the slides and photos in the Audio/Visual Series of MC 368 - Pasaquan Preservation Society. Martin and many of his correspondents were erratic in the use of dates. In general the correspondence is in chronological order. If an undated letter is with an envelope, and the postmark is legible, that date is written on the letter in brackets and is used for filing. Undated material is grouped without order at the end of the series. Envelopes without contents are filed by postmark. Financial records include routine bills such as utility bills; auto repairs; purchases at Sears; bills for mail-order purchases of supplies for his art; bills of sale for his crops to Tom's Peanuts; cotton factors and other buyers; insurance coverage and property tax payments. In the case of bills from the Blessing Oil Company of Brooklyn, which supplied him with the oils used in various rituals he performed as part of his fortune-telling practice, the processor decided to include them in the Correspondence series since Martin developed a personal relationship with the vendors there. Publications includes newspaper clippings, telephone directories, magazine articles and similar materials. The Audio/Visual series consists of cassette tapes of Martin singing, chanting, playing musical instruments and interviews with him. The records of the Pasaquan Preservation Society, including minutes, visitors books, financial records, photographs, slide and other materials documenting their 20 year existence as the managers of the site and its contents, are treated as a separate collection (MC 368).

1920s-1980s 3 box (3 l.f.)

Dates

  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1920 - 1989

Biographical / Historical

According to to the site's website, Pasaquan is a 7-acre compound near Buena Vista, Georgia, created by an eccentric folk artist named Eddie Owens Martin (July 4, 1908-April, 1986), who called himself St. EOM. An internationally renowned art site, it consists of six major structures including a redesigned 1885 farmhouse, painted concrete sculptures, and 4 acres of painted masonry concrete walls. In September 2008, Pasaquan was accepted for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Martin inherited the land from his mother and, using proceeds earned from fortune-telling and other sources, transformed the house and its surrounding land. In an article on the outsider artist, Tom Patterson describes Pasaquan as "one of the most remarkable folk art environments in America - a sort of mock pre-Columbian psychedelic wonderland of brightly painted totems, curved and angled walls and walkways, and wildly ornamented structures that Martin called "temples" and "pagodas." At his death, the site was maintained by the Marion County Historical Society. Later the Pasaquan Preservation Society assumed responsibility for the site until it passed to the Kohler Foundation which undertook a major restoration and stabilization project on the site. In 2015, after the completion of the Foundation's work, the Pasaquan property, including all works of art by Martin, and his papers were deeded to the Columbus State University Foundation.

Extent

3 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Other Finding Aids

Kohler Foundation, Inc. Pasaquan Preservation Project

Pasaquan Preservation Society Oral History Interviews, MC 340

Pasaquan Preservation Society (MC368)

St. EOM's Pasaquan website

Custodial History

Gift of the Kohler Foundation to the Columbus State University Foundation in 2015.

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Columbus State University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
4225 University Ave
Columbus Georgia 31907 United States