Enma Saiz
Enma Saiz Artist Statement
The stories about the Miami Marine Stadium that resonated most with me are the accounts of people enjoying music on the water. As with most of my art, the various materials I use lead the way. Of course, chance favors the prepared mind, so I did research online and physically in the archives of the Miami History Museum and other sources to find relevant photographs capturing moments in Stadium history. Clay lent itself to creating figures who might have enjoyed concerts from the water and to creating the instruments for the floating bandstand. The umbrella canopy contains wire, so it seemed like an appropriate material for the instrument stands. Resin makes reflective water, and light bounces between the resin and the glazes used on the ceramics. Easel-like stands re-create a miniature version of the Stadium across from the bandstand. It has representative architectural features, like the triangular windows at the top of the Stadium and angular columns. The stands hold resin-immersed photographs of the Stadium showing different events that took place there, including water skiing events. That led to the logical, but surprise, use of the chair slats as “skis” for the easel stands.
Enma Saiz
Wood, clay, resin, wire, aluminum, paper, fabric. 6 ft. x 4 ft. x 2 ft. installation
Photo Credits:
History Miami Museum, Miami News Collection, St. Martens to Streets and Roads–36th Street–NW, Box 87 (HMA 0015):
Night concert, July 4, 1980.
History Miami Museum, City of Miami Collection, Lighthouse, Blind to Miami-Dade Junior College, 1940s-1980s, Box 1-7 (HMA 0393):
“Water Show Marine Stadium,” Serlick, May 1968, 11353.
“Marine Stadium Rowing,” 3/68, 11452.
“Orange Bowl Regatta, Miami Marine Stadium,” Bachelor, Dec. 28, 1963,
10180.
Virginia Key Beach Trust, “Beachgoers hang out on the beach.”
