Interview by Jimon

1-What is your earliest childhood memory of making art?  When I was about 3 or 4, my brother caught me in his room with a hammer in my hand destroying his Tonka Truck. I yelled at him – “Don’t call me Constructive!” I had to take it apart in order to figure the thing out – it was the single-minded figuring-out that became my art practice later on.

2-What did your path to becoming an artist look like?  I believe I became an artist because it was the only thing that made any sense – every time I tried to figure out a plan B, it sounded awful – the only thing that feels in alignment is to continue to make my artwork.

3-Where did you grow up and how did that affect you as an artist?  I grew up in Los Angeles and that definitely affects me as an artist. As a girl, I moved a lot – we went to 4 elementary schools – and I think that both helped me to be more adventurous but also I learned to depend on myself for stimulus, as my surroundings were frequently changing as a young kid. Into middle-school and high-school things evened out and I grew up in a privileged part of LA, attending private high-school with many children from Hollywood families.  I have a strong interest in magic and illusion and I believe I take much of that from my exposure to Hollywood. Also, though I was always an athlete, I lived with a chronic injury in my ankle for about 10 years, and that really opened my eyes to issues around accessibility, and ultimately led me to work with artists with disabilities and influencing my own work to be closely related to issues about the body and access.

4-Where do you currently live and create?  I currently live in East Hollywood LA and have a studio in Downtown LA. I moved away in 2002 and returned in 2017, both everything and nothing at all has changed!

5-Do you have motto on how to live life?  I am on the 85-year plan. That is what I tell myself and tell my students about how to think of themselves in their art-lives. This is a life-long practice. It helps to try to see the forest from the trees whenever possible.

6- You teach Sculpture at Otis College of design in Los Angeles, do you believe anyone can be an artist or is it inherent?  I believe we are all capable of being artists but we need to learn to access and then to PRACTICE accessing the creative parts of ourselves. Even with the deepest inherent talent, your artistry will disappear without practice. You need to work to understand yourself, the story you want to tell, and then foster new methods for communicating through art.  Ultimately, it is in the making, the trying and failing and trying again, that you learn to speak as an artist.

7- What influences you as an artist?  Everything!

Though my work is not always politically motivated, of late, I have been deeply influenced by our current state of politics and especially by the racial inequities displayed in the justice system. For the last three years, I have been immersed in a project called This Is Not a Gun, wherein I am carving objects the police have mistaken for guns in shootings of unarmed civilians. I also co-host workshops where the public makes these objects in clay and we discuss race equity, cultural trauma, accountability, etc.

8-Do you have a place/person/thing that you visit for inspiration?  I find going for a swim is often the best way for me to clear my head, open to new ideas, and work out problems from the studio.

9-When you are not making art where would someone find you?  Walking my dog in Griffith Park or cruising on my bike in the neighborhood. I also love to support other artists in their work by attending openings and talks!

10-If a movie was to be made about your life, where would it ideally take place and who would be the actor playing your part?  Yikes, I don’t know! Can it be a fantasy? Maybe in Iceland – my most favorite place on the planet earth – and played by….David Bowie!? Fantasy, right!?

11- How do you describe success as an artist?  Continuing to have the next thing to work on, and loving that work.

12- You are involved in a number of charitable causes teaching art, how do you think this affects individuals involved?  I hope it affects the individuals involved greatly! I know I benefit tremendously from working with under-served communities. I have continuing relationships with individuals and organizations I have worked with, including teaching across multiple art centers that serve developmentally disabled artists, and those relationships continue to evolve and nourish me.

13- What is your proudest moment so far as an artist or instructor?  Seeing work from This Is Not A Gun blown up on two 4’x5’ posters and flanking the California State Capitol stairs during a demonstration to pass a bill that restricts police use of force. The work resonated all on its own with great power and poise. I stood back, anonymous in the crowd, very very proud.

14- Name three things you can’t live without in your studio?

a. My dog Pigeon. He is always with me and is the best studio company ever.

b. My carving tools!

c. A fan, because it gets STEAMY in the summer.

15- If you could have dinner with 3 artists living/dead who would be at your table?  Louise Bourgeois, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Adrian Piper

16- How would someone find you on Social media? Instagram: @cara_levine, @thisisnotagun