Biography

Michael Martin is an artist and educator who specializes in photography. After several years as Academic Dean, he recently returned to full time teaching as an Associate Professor at Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, California. He has taught various courses, including photography, gallery operations, contemporary art theory, 2D design, and digital imaging.

Michael’s many years of non-‐profit and civic engagement includes serving as Board President at WORKS/San Jose Gallery, membership on the Cultural Advisory Commission in City of Santa Clara, and most recently chair of the San Jose Arts Commission, where he also sits on the nationally recognized Public Art Committee and Airport Art Program Oversight Committee.

Michael’s website is www.michaelpmartin.com

Artist Statement

The street is a place where people let down their guard, and where humanity is on show for all to see. I surreptitiously photograph people in public spaces when elements align to create a human tableau. They are travel pictures yet they do not identify the place by cultural or historical details as much as use their particulars to investigate a detached, disembodied slice of time.  The detachment makes the familiar strange to us.