Almost 100 people crowded into the McCalla School’s multipurpose room Thursday to hear Chris Martin, also known as C.F. Martin VI, give a lecture on his family’s history. While the Martins likely have the typical family folklore — like the ostracized black sheep, marriages that not everyone agreed with and rebellious teenagers, which Martin still touched on — that wasn’t what drew such a large crowd in the early evening: it was his family’s almost 200-year legacy as guitar makers.
The C.F. Martin and Company was founded in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin, the first C.F. Martin, an immigrant from Germany who sought out the guitar manufacturing trade, which was a change from the violin manufacturing pursuit which dominated the world of traditional music manufacturing at the time.
Martin guitars have been used by various well-known musicians including Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, and 14 of the instruments were displayed in “Amped at IU: The Jim Irsay Guitar Collection” at the McCalla School. Displays at the McCalla School are not limited to particular objects or themes — something other IU institutions, like the Eskenazi School of Art, don’t do.
“This is basically a space we have set up to try to highlight collections from around IU in the area so that people can get access to them. We often do things that other institutions can't,” Associate Director of the University Collections and Director of the McCalla School Brian Woodman said. “We're not an art museum, so we don't have the restrictions to just be art. We can be anything. So, we do science, we do art, we do music.”
As Martin wove his family’s oral history for the audience, he talked about and showed different guitars made during key moments during both the family’s history and connecting them to world history. After he recalled the story behind each guitar to the audience, Craig Thatcher, a renowned guitarist and longtime Martin Guitar partner, demonstrated a song on the specific guitar.
One such song was “Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan, performed on a Martin 1949 00-17 model. Dylan often used it when performing and recording some of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” the album that solidified Dylan’s place in the folk scene, which “Blowin’ In The Wind” came from.
“Bob Dylan, when he first started out, came to New York,” Martin said. “He was playing a 00-17 because Woody Guthrie played on one as well and Woody Guthrie was his hero.”
As Thatcher played the well-known song, there was a gentle impromptu sing-along by audience members, clearly resonating with the song’s lyrics, after Thatcher mentioned the lyrics were “more important than ever” before starting the song.
After the hour-long lecture about his family’s history, Martin opened the floor for questions from interested audience members, who asked questions about topics ranging from the importance of wood types with guitar making (rosewood is the most exotic, but the payoff is worth it, Martin said) and specific questions about certain Martin models (Martin is able to answer almost any potential question about Martin’s catalog).
After he took questions, the lecture ended with McCalla School Events and Engagement Coordinator Emily Zarse thanking the audience members and Martin for coming.
“Our most heartfelt gratitude to Chris and Craig and the entire team, our seven engineers, all this family support from the Martins and to all of you, that was truly a special event,” Zarse said.
The Martin guitars shown in the “Amped at IU: The Jim Irsay Guitar Collection” can be seen by the public in both an in-person and digital exhibit at the McCalla School until fall 2025.
