Eddie Owens Martin

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American eccentric folk artist who called himself "St. EOM." Martin created Pasaquan, a 7-acre (28,000 m2) compound near Buena Vista, Georgia. An internationally renowned art site, it consists of six major structures including a redesigned 1885 farmhouse, painted concrete sculptures, and 4 acres (16,000 m2) 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, 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.” The site is maintained by the Pasaquan Preservation Society. Martin shot himself dead in his bed in 1986. Link to Pasaquan