I first discovered the work of Wangechi Mutu on my Tumblr dashboard, tragically sandwiched between Nirvana gifs and paintings of cats. Arresting and organic, her collages conjure up a universe totally at home in both the near future and the distant past. When I discovered that she was an Artpace alumnus, I instantly knew that I needed to interview the artist behind this powerful oeuvre. Although her practice in New York made an in-person exchange impossible, she was gracious enough to reply to my questions over email. Needless to say, she didn’t disappoint. Wangechi’s tale is one of heritage, pride, and dedication to craft, and the advice she gives will prove invaluable for any young artist looking to make their mark. It certainly has for me.

Nathan Engel: What advice do you have for artists still in school?

Wangechi Mutu: …There is one thing you owe your humility to and that is to your Art. Humble yourself to your Art. Submit to your Art. Yield to your Art and what it calls for and requires.

Your Art should not be something disconnected and separate from you. It shouldn’t pull you around by the nose like some frightened traveler journeying through unknown places. If you’re committed to creating Art for as long as you can possibly imagine, then ask your Art what it needs.

But ask by creating and dedicating enough time to your work that through that very love and obsession with what you make, you’ll know whether: Should I move to this or that city? Should I apply for this or that residency? Would it bother my psyche and be too painful to show up at this opening? What type of relationships make sense for the continuation and health of my work? Your Art is not about you. Your Art IS you. It will tell you if you listen. So listen through your art.

And my last bead is, let go! I want to tell you that recently I emptied out my home studio. I took everything down that I had on the walls, all my cut-outs, my works in progress. I took chachkas off my shelves; everything came down. I stripped the entire space bare. I didn’t even realize how much I needed to remove this thick crust that I’d developed around me. But I did. I needed to let go!

I molted. And once I shed in this way, I felt so light and naked. I re-remembered how important it is to take away all that is familiar to you. To begin all over again. It was quiet again around me. And in that quiet, I’ve slowly begun a new body of work.

ABOUT NATHAN ENGEL
You[th]Pace Teen Art Councilmember, 2012-13
Nathan Engel is a senior at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas.

Image credit: Photo by Kathryn Parker Almanas

Make a date with KLRN’s “Arts” this evening as they air a profile of San Antonio-based artist and original Artpace resident, Jesse Amado.

Recently launched, “Arts” begins at 8:30pm each Thursday.

By the way, Happy World Pasta Day!
Pasta + “Arts” = Pastarts
Pa…starts at 8:30pm, so don’t forget.

Image credit: Photo by Erik Gustafson

The Last Post (2010) is an animated video installation inspired by Sikander’s ongoing interest in the colonial history of the Indian Subcontinent as well as the British opium trade with China. She animates the protagonist, an East India Company man who appears in various guises, as dissolving, exploding, and reconstituting himself throughout the work. Through the assorted metamorphoses of the main character, The Last Post can be seen as a metaphor for societies and cultures in constant, never-ending transformation.

The Last Post is organized and presented by the Linda Pace Foundation, and is on view through June 1, 2013, by appointment only.

Image credit: (Left to right) Artpace Deputy Director Mary Heathcott, artist Shahzia Sikander, Ballroom Marfa co-founder and Executive Director (as well as Guest Curator and Interim Program Director of the Linda Pace Foundation) Fairfax Dorn, composer Du Yun, and Artpace Studio Director Riley Robinson in the Artpace courtyard. Photo by Wendi Kimura

Among the list of formidable contemporary artists are Artpace alums: Matthew Buckingham (2007), Oliver Herring (2004), Glenn Kaino (2007) and Rubén Ortiz-Torres (2001). Formerly called the Lucelia Artist Award, the Contemporary Artist Award is presented biennially to an artist under age 50 and comes with a $25,000 cash award.

In 2004, Artpace Hudson (Show)Room alum Kara Walker (1999) won the award based on her arresting silhouettes.

The Contemporary Artist Award winner for 2012 has yet to be named, but a complete listing of nominees is available on the Smithsonian website.

His Open Studio reception is this evening, June 1, 6-8pm at the Locker Plant in downtown Marfa. If you happen to be in the area, I encourage you to stop by. Without his fellow Fat City musicians, Frank will be performing a solo set on his new guitar axe, a surprising find from Alpine, TX.

Jeff Williams receives the 2012 Texas Prize at a reception on May 18, 2012

On Friday, May 18, AMOA-Arthouse supporters gathered to award this year’s coveted Texas Prize, a handsome monetary grant recognizing artistic excellence that also bestows definitive bragging rights for one fortunate Texas artist. This year, the three artists in the running included two past Artpace residents: Jamal Cyrus and Jeff Williams. As an onlooker on Friday evening, I was rooting for both of these wonderful artists, and was elated when the envelope revealed I would not be disappointed.

Jeff was a resident at Artpace in 2011, and was selected for the International Artist-in-Residence program by guest curator Russell Ferguson along with fellow artists Graham Fagen and Frank Benson. For those of you familiar with the installation he completed for Artpace, you may recognize a notable link between Jeff’s installation for the Texas Prize and There is not anything which returns to nothing which debuted at Artpace on November 17, 2011. At Artpace, he included a piece, Conservation Fountain (Cibolo Creek Fossil), which included a fossil sourced from outside of San Antonio. His Texas Prize installation directly followed his Artpace project, again including a fossil mined from the same resource.

The Texas Prize exhibition will be on view at AMOA-Arthouse’s Jones Center location through July 22, 2012.