Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Marie Young.
Hi Cara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In viewing the trajectory of my work, I feel that painting has become a means of seeing and communicating, a direct method of recording history, an exploration of collective memory, and a fervent desire to connect with both my heritage and with the world around me. When I was younger, I actually dreamed of being a lawyer, a defendant for marginalized people, and an advocate for underrepresented voices and their stories. It wasn’t until I was about 17 that I stumbled upon the idea of artmaking as a career.
I took a Drawing and Painting class in the 11th grade, and there was an assignment related to using a pale Prismacolor pencil on Black paper. I chose a car engine for my study, and seeing this immense complex machinery emerge out of nothing at all–these small marks building gears and fuel lines emerging from void of the paper–shook me to my core. It was the first time I felt like I saw myself and I wanted to discover what that meant.
Switching directions from my previous ambitions, I decided to leap headfirst into the ocean that would be the beginning of my artistic career. I began swiftly building a portfolio and had the chance to participate in many local and regional exhibitions. Some of these include the Governors Honors Program (GHP) at Valdosta State, Scholastic, Museum of Contemporary Art Atlanta, and several more. I was always a huge lover of languages as well during this time, and this sparked new interests that would continue to evolve my studio opportunities in the U.S. and Internationally.
As I continued developing my practice after leaving Georgia and moving to Detroit in 2019, I continually felt that I was able to find new opportunities and other artist of color that were seeking to use their artmaking to reshape their social condition. I think that art holds an incredible power of transnational unity. Now I am looking forward to using all that I’ve learned to continue learning. I have been painting a few Murals in the city for Wayne State University as of late, and I will be graduating this May. I am also looking forward to a few international artist residencies in France, Italy, and Togo this upcoming year (2022-2023).
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ups and Downs, Ebb and Flow… I think that this will eternally be an essential part of the artmaking process. Despite the pandemic and all of the challenges that I’ve faced simply surviving as a working artist, I can say that these mountains have definitely pushed me to be stronger and more excited to show my work in other locations if certain spaces aren’t fond of what I’m making. My work is always changing and sometimes it’s important to know that there may be many places that don’t desire to promote your artwork, but you have to network and find the space that will. It is liberating for me to also live in many languages as it makes me feel that my world is so much larger. In that, there are many worlds where my work may have a different translation and resonate differently in a foreign mind. It’s almost like reimagining all of history and what I know but on a different portion of earth, land, and culture. Racism and Revolution happened outside of America as well…so it’s important to see what that looks like.
On a brighter note, I feel that sometimes we talk about all of the barriers that try to separate us as humans, whether this be race, sex, language…and yet there are so many ways that humans are able to connect and communicate even when they are speaking two different tongues. I will say again, I believe that art has an incredible power of transnational unity. I just hope that I can continue following what I feel led to do in the spirit of my practice, and remember that ever hurdle is another chance to grow.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am currently living and working in Detroit. I am a third-year GTA and MFA Candidate at Wayne State University. During the graduate program, I have had the opportunity to teach students in Drawing and 2-D Design and also an opportunity to work with Art Core, Sculpture, and Painting faculty. This has allowed me to participate in public art projects such as 2 murals for the University and for WSU school of Medicine. I am also very active in teaching many extracurricular workshops and am constantly seeking to exhibit my work. I am looking forward to graduating in May and am hoping to teach locally in the community. and abroad this year.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
It means a great deal to listen to stories that have been left out in history. I think that the most encouraging thing for someone who may feel unheard or unseen is to give them a platform and a space to be themselves, an unapologetic space of expression. I frequently think of artists that were working before there were many freedoms for marginalized people… or those whose stories were not frequently told. Artists like Augusta Savage, Edmonia Lewis, WEB Dubois Exposition Universelle 1900, and his work with Atlanta University Students and Thomas Calloway. All of these were black scholars living and working despite the pressures pre and post-reconstruction. I just have to consider the drive that they felt to pursue their craft despite the institutions that sought to undermine them. I think any place that is willing to accept my heritage and what I can do with my hands is enough.
Contact Info:
- Email: caramarieyoungart@gmail.com
- Website: https://cara-marieyoung.com
- Instagram: @caramarieyoung
- Other: lnk.bio/TPAV
Image Credits
Heidelberg
Paul Hitzenberger
Jeff Cancelosi
