Kit Young: Ephemeral Machines, Transient Humans
How did you start making art?
My parents gave my brother and I art material, blocks, and simply let us play.
When did you realize creating art would be a significant part of your life?
Again, I have my parents to thank. They placed a very high value on creativity and made art part of our daily lives. From an early age I felt autonomous in my creative decision making so art became my safe haven.
Tell us about your favorite medium to work in and why.
Video has been my primary medium for many years. I remember reacting very negatively to commercial media; TV, radio, printed material, (before the internet), and thinking that there must be a way to make it more personalized and fun instead of designing it to brainwash the public into buying things. Hand made slides and Sony Camcorders were my gateway into hacking media.
How do you start a new work?
One of my favorite places to start is by collecting short video clips of things I see and hear on walks and hikes around town or in the woods. 20 years ago I never would have guessed that I would have a tiny video camera in my pocket at all times!
Tell us about three artists that have been influential for you.
I’ll name my contemporaries, artists that I have collaborated with, that inspire me and that I learn from. Allen Moore, a sound artist from Chicago, presses his own records out of graphite or dirt from his mom’s back yard and DJs with them. Cristal Sabbagh, a dancer who uses the intense Japanese form of Butoh to explore Black experience in American society. Lori Varga, a collector of archaic media who paints and scratches directly on to 16mm film.
How has your style and practice changed over time?
My practice is becoming more performative, improvisational, and collaborative as it goes on.
Describe your dream project.
We saw the composer Tyshawn Sorey’s piece Monochromatic Light at the Park Avenue Armory last year. This production, directed by Peter Sellars, is a multimedia work that uses dance, paintings by Julie Mehretu, and projected light. As I watched the performance I immediately started adapting the production to my work; to make the paintings and projected light animated and interactive with the movement of the dancers and with the sound.
Why is art important?
Any practice that centers creative exploration is necessary for our survival. The artistic disciplines open our minds, increase our empathy, and make us a more flexible species. The commodification of art seems to do the opposite.
What book do you think everyone should read? Why?
I’ll just list some favorites. Parable of The Sower by Octavia Butler, Beyond Words by Carl Safina, Staying With the Trouble by Donna Haraway, Horizon by Barry Lopez, How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Olin Wright, Talking Back by bell hooks...this is the tip of the berg....
What is your best studio habit? Your worst?
My best is arranging my schedule so that I can stay in the studio and loose track of time completely. The worst is not getting into the studio when I have a smaller amount of time; giving in to the feeling that it’s not worth it.