Victoria Manganiello

(Forbes 30 Under 30)

www.victoriamanganiello.com

15 March 2019 8 Min Read

Victoria Manganiello: Finding Beauty and Inspiration in Everyday

It is an honor to introduce you to Victoria Manganiello, a remarkably talented contemporary artist and textile designer. Using unconventional materials and techniques, Victoria often plays with light, color, and texture and incorporates art with technology. Her hard work was acknowledged when Victoria found herself on Forbes’ list of 30 Under 30 US & Canada 2019: Art & Style.

Victoria’s career started by immersing herself in the art world. She was an intern and research participant in various organizations in the art field, including Milwaukee Art Museum, Sotheby’s, and Stepping Stones Museum for Children. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Art, Education, and Community Practice from New York University, Victoria is currently an Adjunct Professor at New York University and Assistant Professor at Parsons School of Design.

I welcome everyone to hear how Victoria expresses the world through her art, her favorite piece of art she has created, and how the world motivates her daily.

The Logician

Before anything else, I would like to thank you for being a part of this movement! So, can you tell us more about who Victoria Manganiello is? Why did you choose this career?

Victoria Manganiello

I have always been compelled to make things, ever since I was a kid.

For most of my childhood, I wanted to be an architect and spent hours with graph paper and legos simultaneously teaching myself how to use a sewing machine and knitting with other kids at school.

In college, I learned how craft can be used to communicate the concept and began deeper explorations of material.

After graduating with a double major in art history and in studio arts, I got a job on the corporate side of the art world all the while creating in my apartment and showing infrequently.

I was very interested in education and I still am — interaction and dialogue are a big part of my work and I am also an adjunct professor at NYU and Parsons The New School.

At a certain point, I decided to take the leap and focus myself into making my work (which meant collecting a dozen freelance jobs “on the side”) and I have slowly been gaining momentum with my work, exhibiting internationally and throughout the US.

The Logician

What was the reason for choosing art as a form of expression? What does your work aim to say? How did you develop your career?

Victoria Manganiello

Your first two questions both suggest that I have made decided choices to be an artist.

Of course, I have made professional choices to pursue a career as an artist but in terms of the way I express myself, it is not really a choice- it is just a part of who I am.

The modes we express ourselves with whether they fit into our job descriptions or not, do not come from a menu of choices.

I’m really lucky that I’ve been able to make my work so connected to my passion but it’s not easy and you have to make a lot of sacrifices to do it.

It isn’t possible for many people to be an artist professionally and so if they choose other jobs, they are still artists

My work addresses the staples of what makes us human.

I draw connections between the basics “food, shelter, community” and the human experience across time and space by employing the ubiquitous materials of our lives including everything from cotton and plastic to computer code and the internet.

I’m talking about physical, virtual and social borders. I’m a Luddite but I’m also an optimist and my work aims to start a dialogue for a better future.

The Logician

Have you ever dreamt about being among Forbes’ 30 under 30? What did you learn from that experience?

Victoria Manganiello

I have a few friends that have been on the list over the years and I was nominated a few years in a row before receiving the recognition so it was certainly on my radar.

It is an honor to be associated with so many talented and thoughtful young people. And it is so new still that I am sure much of what I have to learn and gain from the experience is ahead of me.

The Logician

What is your favorite piece of art that you have created? Why? Do you mind sharing the story behind it?

Victoria Manganiello

My favorite pieces seem to be the ones that I have created in collaboration with other people.

My work is really about the collaboration of materials as a metaphor for the collaboration of people and ideas so when I get to work with someone else, that is really elevated.

I am not sure I have just one favorite but one of the favorites is “Computer 1.0” which I’ve created in collaboration with friend and designer/artist, Julian Goldman.

It is a textile I have woven by hand that uses air and dye to create a moving surface. Suspended from the ceiling, a viewer can walk around and underneath it, the moving surface creating fluctuating patterns and shadows around them.

Conceptually, the piece is exploring the future of technology by examining the history of the computer. I’ll be exhibiting it at MAD museum in NYC in May.

The Logician

According to you, what is the secret to success? Does it have something to do with time management or perception of things?

Victoria Manganiello

I have absolutely no idea what the secret to success is (laughing).

Maybe not knowing is the secret- finding fulfillment from the stamina required to endure a journey of frequent rejection and long hours that you’ve got no guarantee is going to bring you to success.

Yes, time management, organization, and good communication make the journey smoother but they do not guarantee anything.

I really think it is more about letting go of what the world tells you success is and defining your own (albeit informed by educated research) idea of and roadmap to success.

The Logician

What motivates you daily? Who are your biggest influences in life and work? Who do you look up to and why?

Victoria Manganiello

I am inspired by materials and the beauty I see in both the natural and synthetic world around me.

I am inspired by construction, man-made objects of the everyday.

I am motivated by the ugliness. I do not like a lot of what the world looks like and I want to make new things with which we can talk and see differently.

I am not ok with what I see, so I have to create something new.

Perhaps this is why I use abstraction – it is a way for us to see ourselves, our unique and shared challenges within something that allows us space to see.

By not being able to translate what we are looking at immediately into a common language we can step aside from the prescribed definitions around us.

Abstract art is like an American who does not speak Japanese going to Tokyo and encountering signs written in Kanji that to them, are just forms that have no prior meaning.

A Japanese person can’t see that sign and not read it — that is impossible. Abstraction gives us a moment to think before we read and there is a lot of creativity and innovation available in that moment itself.

I look up to my students who are putting themselves on a path dedicated to changing the world. I am inspired by the people starting a dialogue and employing uncommon language and materials.

The Logician

Many gifted artists are constantly hesitant about making art their career. Why do you think is that? What would you recommend to any person who is currently in this position? Is the field prosperous? Why?

Victoria Manganiello

I guess there are emotional and practical reasons why someone would hesitate to make their art their career.

When you’re an artist and your art is your work it means that the challenges, judgments, and failures you face at work are connected to your existence as a person.

It is very hard, if not impossible, to strike a healthy work-life balance. It is hard to put your vulnerability out into the world.

On a more practical note, many hesitate to enter a line of work that does not frequently pay you what you deserve or even at all. I work for free all the time.

I frequently encounter people who want and need my services to make their own profits but believe my experiencing a personal sense of fulfillment by expressing myself and sharing that expression with the world, should be compensation enough.

My landlord does not accept Instagram followers for rent payments.

Other people become rich in money and credibility from the work they exploit from artists who they do not pay or credit. Even many of the more successful artists do not see the majority of profit that is made from their work.

I would recommend to anyone who wants to work as an artist that they find an income that is reliable, at least at first so that their studio practice does not depend on profit.

This relief will make the artwork better.

For me, that reliable income is teaching part-time. I am a professor at NYU and The New School Parsons. I love working with students and being a part of the university community. But it also affords me time and flexibility to work on my own projects.

The Logician

How does a great artist like yourself use their spare time? What do you most enjoy in life? What do you think matters?

Victoria Manganiello

I spend my spare time with family and friends. I love to cook for people. I love to walk around and look at stuff while talking to someone. I love learning, that’s what I enjoy most.

But I also spend a lot of spare time working. You can get a lot of yarn spun in front of Netflix!

The Logician

Do you have any plans for the future? Where does Victoria see herself in the next 5–10 years? What about your art?

Victoria Manganiello

As for the near future, I have a lot of exciting projects coming up, including an exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design, Indianapolis Contemporary Art Museum, The Knockdown Center, Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Currents Festival Santa Fe and others.

More details about all on my website: www.victoriamanganiello.com.

Anything could happen but I hope in 10 years to be able to look back and be proud of the work I’ve made.

I want to continue developing interactive projects that can engage wider audiences and truly bring the change and impact and power I believe art uniquely has.

The Logician

Finally, what would you advise everyone reading this interview?

Victoria Manganiello

Ask questions, look for answers in unusual places.

The Logician

Thank you, Victoria, for sharing your art and thoughts with me. What really struck me is your outlook on the world. You showcase how looking at the things we don’t like around us can motivate us to create something abstract and beautiful. This view may change the way people see things. I cannot wait to experience your new interactive art and see all of your future exhibitions. Wishing you the best of luck in all future endeavors!

The Logician

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