Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart
Episode: Artist Wangari Mathenge's New Show
Date: September 5, 2024
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Wangari Mathenge
Topic: Debut of Mathenge’s solo exhibition, “Bedimmed Boundaries Between Wakefulness and Sleep”
Episode Overview
This episode dives into the transformative personal and artistic journey of Wangari Mathenge—Kenyan-born artist, on the occasion of the opening of her solo show at Nicola Vassal Gallery in New York. Host Alison Stewart leads a conversation that canvasses Mathenge's unconventional path to art, her inspirations, the process and ideas behind her new exhibition, and the broader cultural implications of her work.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Wangari’s Early Life, Family Expectations, and Creative Beginnings
- Growing up in Kenya: Mathenge emphasizes her early exposure to creativity but underlines it was considered a hobby, not a career path.
- [02:05] “I don't think I wanted to be anything. I never thought of what I wanted to be... I was introduced to just a lot of creative things... but as a hobby. My parents, I think, always envisioned that I would be a lawyer.” —Wangari Mathenge
- Parental influence: There was a strong expectation for her to follow practical professions, such as law or medicine.
- [03:28] “In Kenya, while we have a lot of art and culture, we probably didn't take it as a very serious endeavor when I was growing up... I never thought that people took it as a primary endeavor... a way of expressing themselves and also making a living.”
- Introduction to Art: Mathenge began painting around age 6 or 7, encouraged by her mother, but always as an extracurricular activity.
Academic and Professional Pivot
- Educational background: Attended Howard, earned an MBA, then a JD from Georgetown, eventually working in law and finance in Boston.
- [05:10] “Brainwashing. Like I said, I honestly, there's no other way to explain it. I just grew up hearing that you would be a great lawyer…”
- Life without art: Mathenge didn’t miss art initially, absorbed in the rigor of law.
- [08:10] “It felt normal because I was very focused on law... only when [art] re-entered my life... it sort of just called upon me.”
- Return to art: She began taking community college art classes to find balance amid the demands of law, not initially seeing it as a possible full-time pursuit.
Transition to Full-Time Artist
- Gradual shift and mentorship: It took nearly a decade to move from hobbyist to considering professional art, with a pivotal moment coming from an art history teacher who encouraged pursuit of an MFA.
- [09:37] “Art history class is what essentially drove me into really realizing how important this way of expression is... My art history teacher encouraged me to pursue an MFA and... art being a full time practice.”
- Barriers and commitment: Mathenge admits that cost and time were major considerations in deciding to return to school for art.
- Art school impact:
- Learned to critically reflect on her own work and gained confidence to share publicly.
- [11:09] “I was able to be critical and understand why I was doing it. The other thing... is that it helped me have the confidence to make whatever I wanted to make... and that gave me the confidence to share my work.”
- Learned to critically reflect on her own work and gained confidence to share publicly.
The Exhibition: “Bedimmed Boundaries Between Wakefulness and Sleep”
Inspiration and Research
- Dream states as subject:
- [13:39] “This idea came from me having conversations with friends and also my partner. And we were talking about our dreams, and I realized that I have a certain kind of dream state that is not that common...”
- Mathenge explains her fascination with the threshold states of consciousness: hypnagogia (falling asleep) and hypnopompia (waking).
- Scientific and personal inquiry:
- After learning about these dream states, she researched and began systematically documenting her own experiences.
Artistic Process
- Video and journaling:
- [16:00] “I'm still recording myself. And I have video set up in my bedroom and also in my living room... The works in the show today are... moments when I had these hypnagogic or hypnopompic dreams.”
- [16:53] Regarding her dream journals: “[They] revealed... me recounting exactly what happened in that dream... I would record it very contemporaneously so that I don't miss any detail.”
- Paintings as translated experience:
- Instead of illustrating specific dreams, she chose to paint the in-between state and uses both paintings and a video/animation presentation in the show.
Describing the Artwork
- Self-portraits and thematic focus:
- [18:09] Stewart points out that the first painting, "Tightrope," features Mathenge in a cozy, restful pose. Mathenge details: “It's this painting where I am sitting on this sort of... daybed, and I have my duvet... watching tv, fell asleep... from far, I kind of look like I'm asleep. But then if you look closely, the eyes are open, slightly open.”
- Curating the installation:
- The first painting is placed by the entrance due to its harmony with the gallery’s unique wall color, not symbolic hierarchy.
- Symbolism of the stuffed animal:
- [20:00] “That stuffed animal has been with me for decades... whenever I appear in a painting, I said, I will make sure that there is a sign that it's me reflected in this painting... this show is entirely about me... they need to appear.”
- Interplay between reality and dreams:
- Decision to focus on the psychological “inner space” of the dream state, reducing visual clutter of the lived environment to direct the viewer’s attention.
- [21:28] “Clocks are important because for me that's... I have this low grade insomnia... you suffer with... looking at the clock and realizing that you only slept 10 minutes. And so clocks hold that meaning. That's why the paintings focus on clocks and the individual—so that we delve into the psychological aspect...”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On self-discovery and vulnerability:
- [06:44] “Learning the shift between abstraction and figuration happened in a very compelled way... I started to realize there was this beauty in observation. I started learning more about myself... it was therapeutic in that way, just looking at myself.” —Mathenge
- On art’s cultural context in Kenya:
- [03:28] “...we guess we create it now, but it's really a thing that's appreciated, like sort of in the future... so that being the case, I never thought that people, you know, took it as a primary endeavor...”
- On insomnia and clocks:
- [21:28] “I have this low grade insomnia... one of the things that you suffer with is looking at the clock and realizing that you only slept 10 minutes... clocks hold that meaning.”
Key Timestamps
- 01:04 — Introduction to Wangari Mathenge and her career shift
- 02:05–03:28 — Mathenge’s childhood and Kenyan cultural perspectives on art
- 05:02–08:10 — Educational path, legal career, and recommitting to art
- 09:37–11:09 — The decade-long journey to MFA and professionalization as an artist
- 13:39 — Concept behind “Bedimmed Boundaries...” and exploration of dream states
- 16:00–16:53 — Art-making process: video, journaling, and painting
- 18:09–18:50 — Discussion of standout piece “Tightrope” and exhibition curation
- 20:00 — Significance of the stuffed animal motif
- 21:28 — Use of clocks and visual elements to evoke psychological themes
Conclusion
This episode of All Of It offers an in-depth, personal glimpse into Wangari Mathenge’s transformation from lawyer to artist and her creative practice. Mathenge’s reflections on cultural expectation, identity, self-portraiture, and the nuanced territory between sleep and wakefulness provide not only a window into the genesis of her new exhibition, but also touch on universal themes of purpose, self-discovery, and vulnerability. For listeners, it’s an invitation to explore the hidden realms of consciousness—and to see contemporary art as a field for both personal and communal resonance.
Exhibition:
Bedimmed Boundaries Between Wakefulness and Sleep
Nicola Vassal Gallery, 18th Street & 10th Avenue, NYC
September 5 – October 19, 2024