Artist Profile: Cristy c. Road
Posted July 15th, 2005 by Leah
Cristy c. Road is an illustrator who started making punk zines at the age of 14. Her drawings capture the beauty of people who defy traditional beauty standards. Whether she’s portraying the dystopian future or quiet moments of friendship, her work sticks in your head. On her website she says:
“I contribute work to ideas I vouch for and bands I dance to. Sometimes, I spend too much time thinking of the role of art in social change. One day, I decided illustration could take form of a weapon to dismiss exclusion. Then, I decided it could manifest into a tool that presents ideas in accesible and beautiful ways. In the end, I don’t think making some drawings or saying the right words maks us immune to being the oppressor…. Through some drawings, I’m trying to make imperfections shine.”
She’s one of our favorite artists, so we were excited to set up the following interview:
How did you get started making political art and what issues do you address in your art?
I think integrating political ideas into my drawings was just a natural progression, cause I’ve thought of art as my primary craft since puberty. Whatever affects my life is usually what’s represented in my art.
Ten years ago I was only doing art for fanzines and show flyers, the occasional spurt of, say, sexism and classism that affected me would pop up here and there in my drawings. However, as I grew up, I felt a lot more confident in discussing (visually) where I was coming from politically. For me, it took a lot of growth and healing to even talk about things like sexism and racism. And although I can’t say that three years ago, when my art became more strikingly political than it was in the past, I had healed from all repression that had pounded me in my life, I sure as hell had learned and strengthened from some of that pounding. Fighting for yourself and those around you is a lifelong challenge, but I feel that the initial year when I felt strong enough to talk about what constricted me while growing up was when I felt strong enough to make drawings about it.
In regards to issues I tackle, I think for a while I was really into focusing on making art about gender, feminism, and combating sexism. It depends on what’s happening around me. There was a while when I did a lot of art about Cuba, the US, and immigration policies. During the inauguration protests, I did a lot of drawings about Bush policies and how they’re all silent killers. Right now I’m gonna start working on a new zine/novel about teenagers, queerness, punk rock, and the latino community in Miami — so I’m gonna start pouring out drawings about that.
What/who are your inspirations?
Growing up I was really obsessed with all the bands I listened to and all the artists that persisted with them, or at least made art for them, and I think that that heavily influenced my aesthetic.
