Kansas City artist Christian Murray grew up in a rural Nebraska town with a population that hovers around 6,000, but he always dreamed of making it to Hollywood, and eventually he did.
Shortly after high school, Murray left his hometown of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and joined the Air Force to see the world and turn his goal of going to film school into reality. He was stationed in Italy and Turkey, where he began taking pictures and creating collage art pieces. It was here that Murray hatched his brand, Hollywood Someday, as a reminder of his long-term creative goals.
After his time in the military, Murray landed in Los Angeles, beginning and eventually dropping out of film school in order to take opportunities to travel the world again, this time as creative director for rapper The Game.
After traveling for years and living in New York, Murray settled in Kansas City to be close to family, and he continued working on his brand, which now focuses on collage art and wearable pieces, such as his collage briefcase. Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice, a breakout rookie, was seen sporting a Hollywood Someday collage briefcase in his highly publicized Las Vegas Super Bowl arrival.
We talked to Murray about his creative process, his collage art worn by Rice and his big hopes for the future.
How did you get involved in this type of collage art? I never considered myself an artist until recently. I’m not a traditional artist. I can barely draw a stick figure. But my best friend recognized when I was making some collages in Turkey and Italy that I had a skill, and he really encouraged me and pushed me. After I got out of the military, he paid me to make a large collage with Rolling Stone magazines, vintage ads, music posters, anything that was aesthetically pleasing. Once I did that, I saw how excited it made me feel—and not just the result but the process. There’s something about having a bunch of papers spread out, looking through them, smearing globs of glue into an abstract image.
How did this collaging project transform into a piece used by a Super Bowl champion? In 2020, Covid slowed down everything for everybody and gave me time to really focus on my art. I started grabbing items off the street in New York—so many people throw away incredible stuff, especially in the Upper East Side. So I started taking these items and compiling it into other pieces, doing decoupage and collages. Near the end of last year [and now living in Kansas City], I did a briefcase. I DMed Rashee Rice and [eventually] gave him the bag at a signing in Overland Park, and he loved it. This was before Thanksgiving of last year. Months go by, I hadn’t heard anything. On the Chiefs’ Instagram page, [I saw] Rashee’s photo [walking into the locker room in Las Vegas]—and he’s rocking my briefcase. It already had 50,000 likes. I’m just overwhelmed, excited and astonished. This one little small decision months ago—before they were even playoff contenders, with all the ups and downs this year—that now he’s walking into the Super Bowl in Vegas with my art, with my piece.
What’s next for Hollywood Someday? Having something that is art and also usable is important to me. I’m working on more briefcases right now, and I’m doing a decoupage collage on high-top Crocs. The next thing is to move into shoes and wearable items beyond even luggage. I want to get my stuff into the hands of bigger [brands], trying to get collaborations. The Rashee briefcase was a Samsonite briefcase that I bought at a thrift store. My goal is to go to these companies and get a branding deal, to fuse art with something like a Samsonite briefcase together [for a limited] release at a high price. I want to be able to bridge the gap between regular luggage companies and luxury, and I want to be the creative that allows them to attach art and the future of art with a great brand—something where I’m using my style and adding it to a brand that already exists.
Find his collage briefcase and other bags at hollywoodsomeday.com or follow on Instagram at @hollywoodsomeday.
