The self-taught artist and Georgia native St. EOM established the visionary art site Pasaquan in the mid-1950s. Located in Marion County, Pasaquan is maintained and operated today by Columbus State University, which assumed control of the site in 2016.

St. EOM was born Eddie Owens Martin on July 4, 1908, in Marion County to Lydia Pearl and Julius Roe Martin, a sharecropper. In 1922, seeking to escape the rural life of his parents, he left home and ultimately moved to New York City, where he began to study art in the city’s museums and libraries.

Eddie Owens Martin
Eddie Owens Martin

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society

After living in New York for about a decade, Martin had a series of visions while suffering from a high fever. In his visions, three “people of the future” from a place called Pasaquan selected him to depict, through art, a peaceful future for human beings. After receiving these visions, Martin began to call himself St. EOM.

According to St. EOM, the Pasaquan messengers instructed him to “return to Georgia and do something.” His response was the establishment of Pasaquan, a visionary art site that he began building around 1955.

Studio Building, Pasaquan
Studio Building, Pasaquan

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

Covering seven acres in Marion County, the Pasaquan artscape includes six buildings, the oldest of which is a late-nineteenth-century farmhouse. Both the interior and exterior walls of the structures are painted in vibrant colors and bold patterns, often incorporating human figures and nature imagery. The buildings are connected by painted concrete walls, which often feature raised sculptural elements. More than 2,000 pieces of St. EOM’s artwork, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, are also housed at Pasaquan.

Wall of Faces, Pasaquan
Wall of Faces, Pasaquan
Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

St. EOM, who committed suicide in April 1986, bequeathed Pasaquan to the Marion County Historical Society, which later formed the Pasaquan Preservation Society. The Marion County Historical Society also arranged for the placement of St. EOM’s work in a number of museums around the country, including the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.; the American Folk Art Museum in New York City; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California. In Georgia, St. EOM’s work is part of the collections at the Albany Museum of Art in Albany and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Tin Wall, Pasaquan
Tin Wall, Pasaquan

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

In 2014 the Pasaquan Preservation Society, Columbus State University, and the Wisconsin-based Kohler Foundation partnered to refurbish and preserve the site. After two years of work, the site reopened on October 22, 2016. Columbus State students, professional art restorers, and local artisans participated in the site’s renewal. Columbus State was charged with caring for Pasaquan in the future and now operates the site.

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Eddie Owens Martin

Eddie Owens Martin

Artist and Georgia native Eddie Owens Martin, also known as St. EOM, poses at Pasaquan, the visionary art site that he established in Marion County around 1957.

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society

Studio Building, Pasaquan

Studio Building, Pasaquan

The studio building of folk artist St. EOM (Eddie Owens Martin) is attached to the original family farmhouse. Every surface of St. EOM's estate, Pasaquan, in Marion County is covered by his art, inside and out.

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

Wall of Faces, Pasaquan

Wall of Faces, Pasaquan

The walls of Pasaquan, the estate of the Buena Vista folk artist known as St. EOM, vary in height, width, and length. They are created with wire mesh and concrete in detailed relief.

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

Red Face, Pasaquan

Red Face, Pasaquan

The folk artist known as St. EOM (Eddie Owens Martin) was fascinated by the human face. The artwork at Pasaquan, Martin's Marion County estate, includes more than 100 faces.

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com

Tin Wall, Pasaquan

Tin Wall, Pasaquan

The folk artist Eddie Owens Martin, also known as St. EOM, constructed his visionary art site Pasaquan in Marion County in the 1950s. Martin's work, including this hammered tin wall at Pasaquan, reveals the influence of international icons and images.

Courtesy of Pasaquan Preservation Society, www.pasaquan.com