Whitman College Magazine Winter 2021

ast in bronze and
patinated to a deep
burnt umber except for
its burnished and polished
tips, artist Wangechi Mutu’s
Underground Hornship at first glance resembles a
juvenile deer’s shed antlers emerging from a tree stump
torn from the ground.
But a closer look at the internationally renowned
creator’s work, acquired by Whitman College in the
fall of 2019, reveals ineffable depth, says Lisa Uddin,
associate professor of art history and visual cultural
studies—what she calls “an uneasy entanglement of
organic and inorganic forms.”
Mutu, a Kenyan-American artist, is known for her
deeply personal sculptures and collages that fuse the
likeness of female figures—typically Black women—
with animal, plant and machine elements. Her
Underground Hornship is “part bird, part antler shed,
part tree stump, part insect, part spaceship, part space
traveler,” Uddin says.
It’s also part of Whitman’s ongoing efforts to
boost the number of underrepresented artists in the
Whitman College Art Collection. Since 2014, the
gallery has secured scores of new pieces—from cast
glass and bronze, to prints and ceramics—to better
reflect artistic diversity in the Walla Walla Valley
and beyond.
“There are shifts all over the country right now
in terms of collections and museums looking to
reevaluate the narrative they’re putting forward and
looking at whose voices have been represented,” says
Daniel Forbes ’93, Sheehan’s co-director since 2007.
“These are things that we in the gallery want to be a
part of. At Whitman, we have increasingly put a focus
on the importance of equity, inclusivity and diversity.”
Page 18
Underground
Hornship
Wangechi Mutu
2018, Bronze
casting,
23.5” x 32 x 8”
Page 19
“G’ EE’ LA”
Ka’ila Farrell-Smith
In collaboration with Master Printer
Judith Baumann 2018, Monoprint,
paper & image, 22” x 15”
Crow’s Shadow Institute
20 / WHITMAN MAGAZINE