e.g.: William Lamson

Action for the Delaware

Serenely floating down the Delaware River in an attempt to create the illusion that he is standing on the water, in Action for the Delaware (2011) Lamson explores the ideas of opposition and control. At first he appears to be standing calmly on the water, alluding to one of Christ’s most famous miracles from the New Testament. However, the artifice of the feat is exposed as we see the floating devise that almost perfectly balances Lamson’s weight with the buoyant force of the displaced water. Instead of peacefully standing on the surface of the calm, blue water, he struggles hazardously and nearly sinks, fighting the rushing water and the forces of nature. Juxtaposing two different kinds of sequences, he visualizes the relationships between nature and man, religion and science, serenity and chaos. It alludes to the precariousness of balance and insists that the desire for control can result in disarray.

Emerge

Helium balloons suddenly break the surface of the calm water, resting on the surface of the water as they slowly float along the current, and then quietly rise out of sight into the empty sky. In Emerge (2007) William Lamson intermingles physics with art in a mesmerizing video. Lamson created “brackets” out of plastic pasta strainers to enclose the balloons and attached the contraptions to sandbags and cinder blocks beneath the water. Rubber bands held the cage down until Lamson’s friends pulled a string to release a pin, allowing the balloons to escape. Because the balloons were submerged in the cold water, the helium molecules lost energy, making the balloons heavier than the air molecules they displaced. But once the helium molecules heated and expanded again, the balloons regained their ability to float and took to the sky. Unlike some of his other pieces that explore opposition, however, Lamson says that Emerge “…is the total opposite. Instead of two forces working against each other to reveal struggle, it’s about effortlessness in a way.” Emerge, then, examines the antithesis to competition: harmony.

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William Lamson is a Brooklyn-based artist who works in video, photography, performance and sculpture. His work addresses issues of masculinity, amateurism, science, play and the quixotic quest for personal heroism that accompanies these subjects. Lamson received his MFA from Bard in 2006 and his BA from Dartmouth in 2000. His work has been shown at P.S.1 MoMA, The Brooklyn Museum, Pierogi Gallery, The Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe among others.

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