Work and Context

Painter, draftsman, linocut, woodcut, and silkscreen artist, cartoonist, and illustrator. Clay Young was prolific in multiple media and an artist through and through, that is, imaginative, responsive to the world, and a man for whom beauty in life was attended and intended. And unless one is a celebrity in the ‘fame & fortune’ sense, an American artist and artist of color, in particular, one must relegate inherent talents to other forms of employment. In our father’s case, Clay Young worked as a Window Display Designer at two of southern California’s most prominent discount department stores: White Front, the first location at 7657 S. Central Avenue in Compton, California; and, The Akron on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake.

The skills and qualifications dad came into the world with and cultivated was ‘an aesthetic eye.’ This may not seem to have as much resonance as it once did; it harkens to a lineage of artists—painters, poets, sculptors, composers, and choreographers—intent upon reflecting the beauty of the world, unapologetically, up front and center. What did Goethe write? “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” Such a disposition does not ignore the ravages of human life, but rather is a remind to elevate ourselves toward what is generative and sustainable for the human soul. Neither did dad’s struggles to fulfill what was meaningful to living a life—in the sense that Viktor Frankl understood as the most important drive in the human will—diminish his knowing of what it meant to be a parent, passing on values that were equally sustainable for his children. Indeed, children were often his subjects and for whom he directed his artwork. And his gift to us was his true gaze—the old language code that says, “I see you!”—punctuated with his brilliant smile and seeding us with that priceless sense of personhood.

Clay Young: His Legacy. His Art.

Celebrating the artistry of Clay Young's legacy.