I had the pleasure of talking with Matthew Jensen, the artist currently working with theBrandywine River Museum of Art, about his upcoming exhibition, Alongside Tall Grasses.  

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When I introduced myself to Matthew Jensen, I was thrilled to hear that he shared my interest in political science as well as art. This led us to talk about the politics of walking and his process behind walking. At the base of his process is his love of walking and being outdoors. As opposed to following a rubric of what a photograph is supposed to look like, he’d rather follow his process that he developed based on what he loves. He loved walking when he was younger, in an innocent way. Though his love for walking is still present, it is more metaphorical now.

Matthew Jensen creates walks that avoid pristine pastures of land, and that explore lived-in places. He described his commitment to the landscape, but also recognized the conceptual components of his landscape photography.   The walks he’s created for the exhibition keep the tributaries of the Brandywine as their focus, moving the viewer through the landscape and calling attention to the river, and then the town around the Brandywine. This emphasizes the idea of the lure of the local, and the inspiration the Brandywine has had for artists.

We then discussed the idea of found objects in his work. This includes the idea of what is found and how the objects act in the work. Jensen’s found objects are usually in plain sight and are presented as artifacts. Here in the Brandywine region there is so much history and preservation, which is different from other places he’s worked, like Manhattan. There’s a feeling of impossibility to the found objects Jensen uses in the final work of art. This is in contrast to the artist Marcel Duchamp’s use of readymades, which were found objects presented as works of art.

The history of the Wyeth family was very present in the area. The Wyeths often painted little things that someone walking would notice, something so simple, it strikes you. This simplicity attracts Matthew Jensen and is a quality that appeals to him in a photograph – as he described it, the less going on, the better. However, there is a lot going on for Matthew Jensen at the Brandywine. Visitors may view his exhibition from August 23rd until November 16th, and try some local walks with guidance from a map produced by the artist as part of the exhibition. Jensen himself will lead a walk on Saturday, October 11, and discuss his creative process in an artist talk on Saturday, November 8. Check the museum website for more details on these events.