Martin Mazorra

Fine Feathers Don’t Make Fine Birds, 2007
Woodcut on canvas
54 x 42 inches
Edition Size: 15
Printers: Phil Sanders, Deborah Chaney, Mike Houston, Martin Mazorra

About the artist

Fine Feathers Don’t Make Fine Birds, like much of the work produced by Cannonball press, is a woodcut on MDF board, printed on heavyweight, unprimed canvas, which is then hemmed and grommetted for hanging. For this relief print, Mazorra cut away the non-image area, leaving a raised portion, which, once printed, appears as line. Fine Feathers Don’t Make Fine Birds illustrates the concept that adornment does not create substantial personal worth. The peacocks display their decadent coats, reminding us of the ways in which class barriers are constructed through the garb and accessories that surround us. In contrast, Mazorra chooses the classic ACDC font and rock-poster aesthetic, a humorous juxtaposition of high and low class.

Cannonball Press has a particular passion for relief printing. Their images are chock full of social satire, sardonic wit, and humor that skirts the edges of a truly American counterculture: hillbilly pirate rock’n’roll. Houston and Mazorra live and work in Brooklyn, NY and log more road trips than the average rock band. They recently returned from South Africa where they wove a 70’ rock python, constructed entirely of wood cut images of endangered African animals, through a crowd of thousands like a Chinese Dragon. You can visit Cannonball Press' website at www.cannonballpress.com.

To inquire, email: rbpmw@efanyc.org

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