Christopher Parkman Christopher Parkman's Biography Christopher Parkman grew up in Massachusetts the first part of his life. In 1983 he moved to Austin, Texas where he finished high school. He became involved with the art and music scene there in the 1980s, working on projects with Chris Levack, John Bruch, Chris Corsbie and Enrique Breceda, among others. He studied at the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston before returning to Austin to finish his BA at the University of Texas. In 1998, he moved to NYC, where he lives and works.   Christopher Parkman's Personal Statement I've always been interested in combining different forms of media rather than sticking with any one discipline or approach. Paint, pen, photography, collage? Throw them all in together and something is bound to happen, even if it ends in disaster. Letting content and form interact, allows for more freedom to make quick turns in one direction or another. Why not cut up an image and work on it in pieces over time before reassembling it? It becomes a process of experimentation and uncertainty rather than repetition and predictability. I like to see the residue of someone's mind playing and physically wrestling with an image. I want to see some grit and imperfection. Sweat and struggle. Insecurity as well as the audacity. Lately I've been using old photos, memories, magazine articles and advertisements from the 1960s and 1970s as source material for my work. My pieces explore the themes of early consumerism, mass media and social change juxtaposed with portraits and depictions of working-class family life.