Grinnell Artists: Cait Mohr

By Hallela Hinton-Williams

hintonwi@grinnell.edu

Cait Mohr is more than they appear to be.

They’re an artist who likes to portray goofy masochistic scenarios. They’re someone who draws inspiration from the work of 20th century feminist artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Louise Bourgeois, as well as Tom of Finland and Jesse Kanda — those considered “avant-garde queers” that give them daily inspiration because they themselves are an “avant-garde queer.” They’re a citizen who finds themselves in a strange political climate that gleams strength from the “Daily Affirmations for the Revolutionary Proletarian Militant” calendar by Stephanie McMillan. They’re an advocate of everyone listening to Carly Rae Jepsen’s album “Emotion,” but whose art more similarly reflects the aesthetics of “The Money Store” by Death Grips.

Cait Mohr surprises and impresses even more in what they do with their art.

By showing pictures out of their sketchbook, impressive drawings and cartoons born out of pen and ink, Mohr reveals the aesthetic they want to achieve.

“Imagine the sounds you would hear in the bathroom at a gay club at four in the morning. I want to encapsulate that kind of grime,” Mohr said. “Even when I was younger, my art tended to show latent transgender tendencies that reflect who I am today.”

Their art, creates a grimy yet startling sterile picture of fetishes and fantasies. It is through this style that Mohr feels best represented by their art.

“I do a lot of weird cartoonish masochist stuff. I have a really big academic fascination with masochism as a philosophy major. It’s a lot more theatrical than sadism,” Mohr said. “It’s this law that forbids the satisfaction of pleasure through the coercion of pain, but through this state of masochism. This pain and punishment orders the subsequent pleasure after that. I find something funny about that. I’m like a gross philosophy boy.”

Mohr’s art uses strong lines and cartoonish depictions of “gross” topics like masochism, dildos and drugs, and also their own experiences. Photo by Helena Gruensteidl

Their art brings out strong feelings in those that see it.

“At my first show, I was walking around looking at all the art, and my friend comes up to me and tells me that my piece was, like, turning her on. I was like, oh my god. I was really proud of myself in that moment. I was really high in that moment, like get out of town.”

Mohr’s art allows them to work out their own emotions as well.

“Over the summer, I was figuring out how to relate to people and my relationship to my body. It made me feel alienated and weird. And I was like, oh, when I feel alienated and weird it reminds me of these semi-sensory deprivation bondage scenarios.”

Mohr doesn’t think about if their art conveys anything whilst they are creating it.

“After [creating a piece], I try to imbue meaning into it. … [It’s] a weird exercise in trying to psychoanalyze myself,” Mohr said. “I just to put down weird aesthetic things floating around in my brain.”

Their love of art started during their childhood in Florida.

“There were a lot of hurricanes, so I usually spent the time locked in a closet drawing fan art for Neopets and Pokémon,” Mohr said. “I like to think that if I didn’t suffer through all those hurricanes, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today.”

Mohr is an artist who draws in beautiful black ink and watches pencil art of men “with balloon-like legs wearing jeans.” An artist who has ventured into “weird internet communities” but has stayed because they remain interested in the aesthetic. An artist who can be viewed at shows around campus and in the new SHIC coloring book and will most likely continue to showcase their art on campus.

Cait Mohr is an artist who ventures towards the “gross” but displays their technique and passion for art in every piece.