Troy Montes-Michie: Rock of Eye

Stitches and sutures: tracing the body and landscape in Troy Montes-Michie's collages To tailor a garment by rock of eye is to rely on the drapeon experience over mathematical measurementin the fitting process. It is a kind of drawing in spacea freehand, an intuition, a trust of materials. Rock of Eye, published on the occasion of Troy Montes-Michies (born 1985) solo exhibition at the California African American Museum, is a collection of the artists collages, drawings, and found and woven images sourced from vintage erotic magazines, French tailoring magazines, found photographs and other materials. These materials are familiar from Montes-Michies recent large-scale paintings and collages that center on the Black male body and his series that traces the social history and form of the zoot suit. Troy Montes-Michie was born in El Paso and his practice reflects his experience growing up along the US/Mexico border. This book is a study in ambiguity between portraiture and landscape; his are the cuts and folds of patterning and mapping. In Rock of Eye, Montes-Michies stitches suture histories and geographies; they establish thresholds for crossing; his needle hits rock. Including essays by Tina Campt and editor Andrea Andersson, with an interview by Brent Edwards, Rock of Eye is a tactile and sensuous artists book recalling the form of fabric swatch books and affirming that collage is an art of selection.