On a sunny November day, I took a trip to the eastside to FITZ’s home studio, which was adorned with bare, large- canvases for acrylic paintings. I was greeted by him and his adorable pup Leo, a Bichon Frisé, who sat quietly on FITZ’s lap for most of our time together. They sat before a bright orange wall, covered in FITZ’s primary inspiration—cartoons. There were countless models of figurines creating the perfect environment for him to create. We talked about how Pokémon and everything Cartoon Network sparked his original love for art, and his journey to becoming a full-time artist. 

Natalya Herndon (NH): Let’s start with you telling me a little about yourself.   
FITZ: My name is Shane Fitzgerald Young, that’s where FITZ comes from. What got me started in art was cartoons and animation. Seeing the bright colors and being able to have a show that connects to people in their homes always stuck out to me. Then when I got to college, I got injured playing basketball and I started taking art more seriously. Let me back it up a bit, basketball allowed me to take my first art class through a scholarship. My first year of college I took all art classes for the first time—no primary classes. Next thing you know I started working with paint and the rest is history. 

NH: So, you basically started with art in college? 
FITZ: Basically. I’ve been drawing forever but I started getting the skillset and learning the basics of art and learning that you can make money in college. I’ve been doing professional art for about six or seven years full time. 

NH: How did you get involved with the Black Lives Matter mural on Indiana Ave? 
FITZ: My auntie, and I gotta thank her for this, sent me a newspaper clipping and from there I sent an email to see if there were any more spots available. They were down to the last two or three letters. I got the last T, and from there we had fun! 

NH: What was your inspiration for your letter in the mural? 
FITZ: I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I was going to wander in and have fun. I didn’t even know I was going to have the entire letter to myself! … I didn’t want to do anything too mentally constraining, because it was a lot of negativity going around at the time so I wanted to add color and fun to my letter.  

NH: So, you kept it true to your style? 
FITZ: Yeah. I’m not opposed to doing deeper topics but it’s all in my own timing and doing it when I have a genuine idea or concept that I would like to follow through on. I can’t just throw something out there. 

NH: I want to circle back to cartoons for a minute. So, have you always been into cartoons? 
FITZ: Yes, I’m a huge cartoon buff! 

NH: Okay so what is your favorite cartoon? 
FITZ: That’s hard. 

NH: Well, what’s a show that you can remember distinctly from your childhood? 
FITZ: Okay I can do that one! Something that made me want to draw immediately was Pokémon and pretty much everything on Cartoon Network fueled me to be an artist. 

NH: What does We. The Culture mean to you? 
FITZ: I think We. The Culture means our community is the culture. Our culture makes the world go round, makes it fun, makes it beautiful, makes it popular, makes it such a wonderful place to be! That’s what I think We. The Culture means, everything Black people bring to this world. 

NH: For people who haven’t been to the museum yet and haven’t seen We. The Culture can you explain your piece and what it looks like? But not too much because we want them to come and see it for themselves! 
FITZ: I want you to feel what I’ve been feeling the past couple of years. I also want to hear other interpretations because it’s crazy to hear what other people think the work means. I love hearing other people’s perspectives. But I would hope people can just see what I was trying to say, how being a business artist is extremely difficult. And not even just a being a business artist but taking your passion and making it a business is extremely difficult and it can drive you crazy, especially when you have a lot of eyes on you. 

Catch FITZ’s piece Keep it Cool in We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective on view in the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields through September 24, 2023. 

You can connect with FITZ by following him on Instagram @artbyfitz. 

EXHIBITION CREDIT: 
We. The Culture: Works by The Eighteen Art Collective is presented by Aaron Wealth Advisors, Gary & Hannah Hirschberg. Lead support is provided by Rachel M. Simon & the Herbert Simon Family Foundation and June McCormack. Associate support is provided by IceMiller and its Racial Equity Solutions Team. Additional support is provided by Judy Donner, Nathan & Deborah Oatts, and Emily A. West.