Karl Friedrich Prince of Hohenzollern ("Charly"), Jazz Musician Photograph

Born in Germany, Martina Rall studied Italian and German literature as well as linguistics at the Universities of Tübingen and Parma/Italy (M.A.), and later on Fine Arts at the Academy of Arts in Nürtingen. She worked first as a concept and graphic designer before she devoted herself to her artistic career. As a multi-faceted artist, Martina Rall uses different techniques and materials in her artworks: graphics, paintings, photographs and writings. In Art she focuses on a mixed media series of Icon Self Portraits "Being Marilyn Monroe" and a photo series about “Artists in Action”, portraying European artists from various fields: musicians, authors and actors at work, to explore the creative process and the fascination of art. From Pop Art to Cindy Sherman photography or Russian cinematography, the inspiration behind her work combines an interesting blend of artistic expressions. Her mixed media selfportrait series “Being Marilyn Monroe. Icon Portraits” is influenced by the work of surrealist female artists like Frida Kahlo and Niki de St. Phalle as well as by Italian author Luigi Pirandello's post-modernist approach on identity theory. A series of coincidences brought Martina Rall to explore and re-think the inherent nature of her work and provides a practical meaning to the American poet William Carlos Williams' quote:' «The artist is always and forever painting only one thing: a self-portrait». Photo Representation: APA Picturedesk, Vienna/Austria