We were lucky to catch up with Ronald Young recently and have shared our conversation below.
Ronald, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
After retiring from teaching I decided to return to school and earn my MFA from the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Searching for a new visual language whereby the materials would create the narrative, I started collecting found objects from around the city: ropes and chains, burnt wood, rusty metal, ole broken tools, decayed architectural features, and lots of bricks and nails. At first I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, I just followed my instincts and let the materials dictate which path to follow. I surrounded myself with things and materials that were unfamiliar and left behind the of style of art I’d grown so comfortable creating. I challenged myself to do something different, even when I didn’t know what “different” was.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am most proud of my 33 years of teaching. As an artist/educator, I am a life long learner. Through teaching I’ve been able to travel, meet people from different cultures and experience first hand the diversity the world has to offer.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being an artist/educator is sharing my knowledge and experience with others.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal is to create the highest quality work that is authentic to my artistic vision of using objects and materials as a means of explaining complex experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: roneyoung.com
- Instagram: @ron.e.young
- Facebook: Ronald Young
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbCfiSAuoCA
- Other: https://hecmedia.org/posts/materials-take-center-stage-in-the-art-of-ronald-young-at-the-gallery-at-the-kranzberg https://news.stlpublicradio.org/arts/2021-07-21/artist-ronald-young-makes-sculpture-out-of-debris-to-express-st-louis-resilience
Image Credits
All images are by Ronald Young. Prevalence of Ritual poster design by Richard Washington.