CSULB Alum Paints for Social & Environmental Change

Produce boxes covered with gouache, ink, and charcoal become a window into the lives and stories of farmworkers when artist, activist and CSULB alum Narsiso Martinez gets his hands on them. 

His spark of inspiration? A banana box he saw during a trip to Costco. The box inspired him to use his art as a commentary on an issue intimate to his personal life by painting on this common, utilitarian material.

Born and raised in Oaxaca, Mexico, Martinez has loved art from a young age. He would draw portraits of his family and neighbors. At the age of 19, he came to the United States in hopes of breaking the “endless cycle” he saw in his family: a lack of higher education, limited resources and dissatisfaction with their occupations. In Mexico, he only completed school up to 9th grade, so when he arrived in the U.S. he was determined to further his education. 

Martinez enrolled into adult school and earned his high school diploma in 2006. He took art classes at Los Angeles City College (LACC) and became inspired by artists such as Van Gogh. He obtained an Associate of Arts in 2009. By that point, Martinez was certain he was meant to be an artist and decided to continue down this path by transferring to CSULB.

During his first few years in California,  Martinez’s primary challenge was to break through the language barrier by learning English, but the next challenge that confronted him during his first semester at the university sent him in a flurry of self-doubt. Throughout a majority of his academic career, Martinez financed his studies alone by working various jobs like bussing tables and washing cars. However, he was having trouble making ends meet and he felt ready to call it quits. That is when his siblings who were living in Washington suggested that he join to work in the fields to fund his education. 

Martinez then began the pattern of studying one semester and returning to the fields the next, with each summer spent under the Washington sun with his siblings. Washington’s landscapes provided scenic inspiration for some of his earlier works, however it was the experience of working in the fields that would provide the foundation for the artworks he would eventually create.

In 2012, all of his hard work as a student and a farm laborer paid off when he earned his BFA in drawing and painting. For the subsequent 3 years, Martinez worked in the fields before finally returning to Long Beach for his Masters in Fine Arts, this time with a scholarship that would alleviate his financial burden.

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Diving Deep into His Work

Brush in hand, Martinez documents the lives of farmworkers and creates rich images meant to communicate about the politics, culture, and environment surrounding the trillion-dollar agriculture industry. 

Inspired by the occupation movement, Martinez’s “Ninety-Nine Plus One” raised awareness of the economic disparities of the country. “One percent of the population would own as much as the 99%, we are the 99,” explained Martinez. In the painting, the “one percent” sit at a dinner table below a chandelier with a contrasting image of farmworkers working in the fields in the background. 

“There is a big disparity of lifestyles between the farmworkers and farm owners. I realized at one point that it is not just in the United States but all around the world.”

To paint a bigger picture of the agricultural industry, he spent time researching the lives of banana plantation workers in other countries. Characters, who to the artist are as real as himself, created in the artwork look the viewer dead in the eye, in a “confrontational” manner, Martinez explained. His intention with his work is not to illicit pity, guilt or apathy but to “activate peoples’ brains,” motivate them to take action to address the injustices and disparities. 

His works create a platform to discuss the inequalities and unfortunate circumstances of certain social groups and to consider reformation efforts that the companies and individuals who profit from this situation neglect to embrace. “We go to the grocery store and see the shiny fruit, not everyone thinks about what goes on behind to bring this produce,” said Martinez. 

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Thinking Outside the Box 

Martinez has also started to think outside the cardboard box and use other materials such as coffee cups and banana bags as canvases for his art. He has created portraits of coffee bean pickers on coffee cups and banana pickers on banana boxes to acknowledge the people who work in the agricultural industry and fields, especially those in the frontline picking fruit and planting trees.

Working with repurposed materials has multiple meanings: it is a commentary on the way we consume things and a way to highlight the issues within the agricultural industry. Transforming ordinary, mundane materials into fine art also gives them new value and meaning. 

Martinez also incorporates sustainable practices into his lifestyle such as adopting a vegetarian diet and advocating for environmental and social solutions. Martinez reflects nostalgically on his 19-year-old self, an immigrant to the U.S. and hopes that his story will inspire other young people, especially young immigrants, to pursue their passions. 

“I want people to know that it is not impossible to think outside the box.” 

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Current Work

In Miami, CA, Martinez is currently working on a plastic bag series depicting landscapes and narratives of farmworkers at The Fountainhead residency. In alliance with their agricultural awareness programs, the OC Fair chose Martinez to be this year’s featured artist. He also has an upcoming group show with the Fellows of Contemporary Art (FOCA)  that will highlight the struggles immigrants face working in the U.S.

As for future works, Martinez hopes to visit more orchards around the world and get to know the people by spending time with them and making art about their lives - both in and out of the fields. In this journey, he hopes to discover more possibilities to better the lives of farmworkers and spread awareness that ignites further positive social and environmental change, one banana box at a time.