Matthew Drutt, Executive Director of Artpace.

SL: How would you characterize the art scene in San Antonio?

MD: The city has a very diverse populace, with a majority of its residents being Hispanic in origin. There is therefore a strong presence of traditional Latino culture as well as many contemporary artists drawing on this background. Beyond that, there is an extremely active regionally-based contemporary art community, with some individuals having achieved national and even international recognition. Artpace is the only institution in the city that has a truly international major contemporary art program, bringing in artists from all over the world to San Antonio and Texas artists with an internationally visible platform

SL: How does the international scope of the Artpace mission meld with its location?

MD: Well, our mission has nothing specific to do with location, so technically we could exist anywhere. And one need not be in a major international metropolis to be international in scope. What does provide a unique advantage to the institution is being in a city not known for being a major destination for international contemporary art. From that standpoint, we provide a major resource to the regional community. Our support comes from all over the state, and from all over the United States. But it’s very true that the majority of our on-site visitors are from Texas, and specifically from the San Antonio area. The rest of the world experiences Artpace through the projects it produces and provides to its artists, which get shown in major international venues. Being in San Antonio also allows us to get more bang for the buck. Labor and resources are less expensive than elsewhere.
 
SL: What led to the conception of On the Road? How did the relationship with Mr. Hoffman blossom, and why was he chosen as a participant?

MD: There were two independent ideas that came together with this show. Jens had been exploring subjects dealing with different aspects of American cultural and social characteristics. As a half-South American half-European temporary resident in the United States, he was exploring different issues of identity and history in his newly adopted home. The cultural mythology of the American road trip was but one among other ideas he was engaged with. I had been interested in developing projects that gave more visibility to the curatorial process at Artpace, which involves inviting guest curators to select the artists for our program, and requires that they visit Texas to visit the studios of prospective Texas resident artists. These visits often involve road trips driving and flying around a state the size of a small country. The experience is exhilarating. I had known Jens for over ten years, since we first worked together at the Guggenheim Museum. I invited him as a guest curator to our residency program because of the specific identity he was creating for himself as a curator, one where the experience work works, not just their presentation, is part of the concept. It was in the course of driving around Texas together, going to six cities in four days, that we got to talking about our different ideas and he proposed this show to me. After trying to help him get it realized without success in Marfa, where he thought it would speak to the itinerant nature of its visitors, I proposed that we do it at Artpace. As our building is a former Hudson automobile showroom, it had a certain additional resonance with our history. It’s a great show and a great fit.
 
SL: Who were the artists in your mind in the beginning stages? The west, clearly, is represented but did you imagine foreign (so to speak) eyes?

MD: Foreign is a word that means something unfamiliar, which is why it used to apply to people who weren’t from your own country. In the times we live in, with global travel, global culture, broadcast and digital network mediums, it no longer applies, unless you were raised in a rain forest without electricity. Having said that, there is a Russian artist in the show whose work I didn’t know about. Kon Trubkovich is an American citizen, but he was born and raised in Moscow. But there were no real surprises here. While some artists, such as Roger Koontz, were less known to me than others, like Ed Ruscha, the idea that many artists were working out West is part of the point. They were steeped in this culture of the automobile in a very different way than the denser environments of the Eastern United States. The vast expanses of road don’t exist there in the same way, so it’s less likely that you would get lost in a mind drift driving across New York or Pennsylvania’s windy mountainous roads, as opposed to the sprawling plains of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. That imagery is so powerful, many artists living outside the United States have emulated it, rather than provided a different vocabulary based on a different cultural experience. This is an aspect of American culture that has had a truly international impact. And I think that’s why Jens chose to focus on it and try to figure out why by experiencing his own journey of self-discovery.