Pat Ward Williams talks at Michaelis
by Kim Gurney
How does one take photographic portraits that convey more than a superficial visual record - and without falling into stereotype? That challenge has driven American artist Pat Ward Williams to much experimentation, which has in turn produced a compelling body of photographs, installations and public art.
Williams, who delivered the latest Michaelis lunchtime lecture on her artistic "greatest hits", said a trip to Nigeria early in her career helped to crystallize this challenge of representation. She said: "We are basically all trapped in our own skins and usually only get a surface knowledge of someone. But a person is not static; they are living, breathing, moving and acting. How can we convey that?"
Her desire as an artist for a realistic rendering of form first led her to photography. She said: "It was a revelation for me to realize that photography could be used for my own artistic practice to mediate between what is out there and [in my head]. I discovered things I could do with photography were akin to painting and drawing in artistic practice."
But Williams wanted to get under the skins of those she caught in her lens. At first, she experimented with collage to convey a deeper reading. She juxtaposed photographs of different scale to create realistically rendered though physically impossible forms. When that became too limiting, she moved to her "off-the-wall" photography phase where display began to convey content.
Simultaneously, Williams began to use archaic photographic processes that freed her from "the precious surface of black-and-white photography" to printing on mixed media. Window frames - a kind of Williams signature - were also introduced to indicate a different way of looking at the image.
Williams, a professor of Art at Florida State University, has also been preoccupied for the past decade with public art. Although bureaucratic frustrations were time-consuming, she said the end result of a permanent photographic exhibition was well worth the effort.
Much of her work is self-referential and her technique reflects that. Technical process is often visible in the final works, which are layered with meanings and multiple references while being meticulously constructed.
Williams also has a strong thematic preoccupation with her Afro-American heritage - in part driven by stereotypical images of American black people. She said: "They were always sad, in poverty, on drugs, in the ghetto or being beaten by police. Although this is a reality, it did not reflect my experiences and the relatively wonderful positive things in the black community."
Although some of her work conveys that sense of celebration, much is hard-hitting political and social comment. South Africa, with its history of apartheid, therefore has a particular resonance. Williams has exhibited here on several occasions, including the 1997 Johannesburg Biennale, when she participated in 'Life's Little Necessities' at the Cape Town Castle.
Williams is currently in Cape Town to complete a residency at Woodstock's Greatmore Studios, where she is working on a series of portraits. Her studios will be open for visitors during the third week of August.
For further details of the next lecture, check our listing page or contact Lisa Essex at Michaelis on Tel: 021. 480-7111 or Email:
