Today we’d like to introduce you to Jett Houtz.
Hi jett, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was always serious about creating art even when I was little. Though took it more seriously within the 8th grade which led me to apply to an art magnet high school (Carver Center for Arts and technology). There I studied painting, drawing, and photography which led me to utilize my art practice as a form of activism for endangered animals and the various minority groups within America. After high school I am now attending Rhode Island School of Design where I am majoring in Photography with an emphasis in Painting but also a concentration in Nature, Culture, and Sustainability Studies and Latin Studies. Though my practice has changed due to me no focusing on creating pieces on Latin Americans experiences within America, me reconnecting with my K’iche roots, and the lens of an adoptee from Guatemala.
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?
With my different practices I feel some mediums are easier for me whereas others are not. More so with my photography I feel is the easiest and I am able to create an Image I love and is pleased with easily. Whereas with painting I always overthink and and lack confidence about what I am painting if I am not getting the results I want as fast as a Photograph. Though that is just the tip of the Ice burg. Like furthering my studies in the arts I have been more worried carrier wise but even so with this worry my parents have always reassured me that I am going to make it and that they have my back to the fullest.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Guatemalan multidisciplinary artist of Maya K’iche’ heritage where I have recently been focusing on capturing the process of learning my heritage and where I came from. But also the lens of an adoptee that lives in a family that isn’t the same race and heritage as them. Though I do consider myself as a multidisciplinary artists I feel I am most known for my digital black and white photographs where I am capturing minorities of America and their experiences within this country. But even so I have been experimenting on how I can intertwine painting, drawing, and photography into a singular piece.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I would have to say my parents and my grandmother on my mothers side. My parents have always been in awe and keep pushing me on creating and discovering new things, They are also creatives (even if they do not claim to be) as well: my dad a musician and my mom actress and literary genius, but both are visual artists as well. Whereas with my Grandmother she pushed me to be creative and to never give up. I always keep her saying “practice makes perfect” in the back of my mind whenever I am frustrated with a piece because she would always say that when I was little and was hating a drawing that I was doing. She kept reminding me to never give up on a piece because it will soon come to be what I consider “perfect”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jetthoutz.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jett.houtz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jett-houtz-b24971284/
- Other: https://www.vogue.com/photovogue/photographers/345545
