ABOUT ME
MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST
AND ART EDUCATOR
BASED IN LONG BEACH CA
My name is Chris Martin, I am an artist and teacher-in-training currently living in Long Beach. I attend Cal State Long Beach where I am working towards a degree in Art Education, with a minor in Classical Studies as well. I have had a love for making art since I was able to put my fingers around a pencil. Often my mediums of choice are graphic illustration with pen and ink, ceramic work, photography, and occasional charcoal drawing here and there. I love getting to experience any new art medium, and learning from others how they create their own art. Though art will always be my number one, I have a love of Classical Studies especially when it comes to Ancient Greek funerary practices and mythology.
Ever since I was a kid watching my dad in his classroom, I knew that education was what I wanted to pursue. For a long while I had planned on working towards becoming a Math teacher, not knowing art was something I could reasonably pursue. Throughout my own schooling experience, I was not offered many opportunities for art courses long until I got to high school, so math was something I had pretty much decided on. Once I was able to enroll in art classes, I quickly realized how important they were to me. Having that time in the day to have a creative outlet amongst all the other daily stresses of high school is so important. The art studio quickly became a safe space for me on my campus.
In many cases, I think often people see pursuing a life in art as something to be an unreasonable goal or something that takes away from time spent on “more important” life skills, especially if there are students like me, who didn't get a lot of exposure to art classes. The importance of having a space to be creative and have that emotional outlet in one's life is one I truly believe in more than anything. Everyone needs a space to be able to have fun and express themselves in a new and exciting way. Being able to foster a space on campus where students are allowed to feel safe to have fun and explore new skills while also learning about the world of art is something I will strive forward always.
Art gives students a chance to think outside the box of what is assigned, with no clear way of solving a problem. It encourages both technical and creative thought processes that allow them to solve a problem at hand in a new and organic way. I truly feel it is something everyone can apply to their life regardless of if they think they may pursue it in the future. I want to make a space where even those who are just taking it for the requirement, still enjoy the class and are able to take something from it to apply it to their own interests and goals. I hope that my teaching allows people to find, at the least, an appreciation for art and the unlimited possibilities that come with it.
For me art has always been a tool for telling a story. I really love the concepts of narrative when it comes to making works of art. As someone who has a strong focus in photography this is a big part of all of the pictures that I take. Surrealist photography is a big piece of my craft today, blending both physical and digital manipulation of my photos to create a new visual experience. My work often explores themes of chaos, distortion, and unique human identity and experiences. Growing up with a visual processing disorder, getting to show the unique way that each person sees the world through their eyes is a big goal in all of the art that I make. With photography there is a common precedent that you are seeing the exact depiction of something that is very real. This offers a unique opportunity to shift people's perspectives due to the existing notion that many people have when looking at photos.
Outside of photography I lean into a lot of fantasy themes in my art. Often I take inspiration from historical myths and adapt them to our modern world. This follows along with the idea of telling a story with my artwork. Whether it be working with my camera or making something out of clay and metal, I always strive to tell a story. Even from the time I was a little kid scribbling on a kids menu at a restaurant, I always had a story in my brain. I’m glad that this love of storytelling has continued into my art today.
