Young Guns 16: Mary Dauterman
By Brett McKenzie on Nov 01, 2018
Showcasing the incredible winners of Young Guns 16
After months of decisions, discussions and debate, The One Club For Creativity is thrilled to unveil the winners of Young Guns 16! These 30 art directors, illustrators, filmmakers, photographers and designers of all types stood above all in this career-making, globe-spanning portfolio-based competition.
Ahead of the Young Guns 16 Ceremony + Party taking place on November 15, we are shining a spotlight on the various superstars who will be honored that evening.
Mary Dauterman
Multidisciplinary Artist/Director
Brooklyn, NY
What does becoming a Young Guns winner mean to you?
Winning Young Guns is definitely validating and encouraging. It feels very nice & good! I waited to enter because I wanted my body of work to be especially ownable to me, and that didn’t really happen until the last year I was eligible. So this was my first and final shot, how dramatic.
It’s not easy to be a successful creative. What sorts of challenges have you encountered to get where you are today?
Making stuff means being really raw and exposed and embarrassing, so just getting used to that feeling is one of the biggest challenges. I also have to add gender bias, time itself, and the limits of the human body (esp re: sleep) to the long list of challenges. I’ve developed a coping mechanism I recommend which is turning anything rage-inducing into fuel and motivation.
How did you decide what to enter? Was it a challenge to curate your own work?
I’m pretty scattered across mediums , so I was worried my entry was a bit all over the place, but all of the pieces (which included film, illustration, product, digital and ads) are very reflective of me, my sensibilities, and my sense of humor. And naturally they are all projects involving wonderful friends & memories.
Can you name any past Young Guns winners who you look up to, whose work you admire or are even inspired by?
Yes I can! Here we go: Mike Mills (YG1), The Daniels (YG14), Becky & Joe (YG14), Daniel Zender (YG13), Julia Pott (YG10), Zipeng Zhu (YG13), Will Bryant (YG11), Julian Glander (YG13), Andy Rementer (YG10), Stefan Sagmeister (YG1), and many others…
What keeps you going, creatively speaking? What drives you and your work?
I get very sad when a project is ending, so I try to hopscotch from one to another to maintain a base level of happiness. Healthy? Unclear. I also love the process of figuring out how to make ideas real, even if that means sending 400 emails to China or hauling fog machines across Manhattan.
Now that you’re a Young Guns winner, what’s next?
I just want to keep doing stuff that is fun and new and terrifying. More specifically, I’m in various stages on some short films, so that’s my focus for the foreseeable future.
The Young Guns 16 Ceremony & Party takes place on Thursday, November 15 in New York City.
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