Edition Announcement #86 - William Lamson

Greetings collectors! We've got a double dose of photo goodness for you today from the ascendant art star William Lamson, who's apparently the Hemingway of video according to this week's Village Voice. (Whoa.)

13. 3/11/2006 (plane lifted by men) and No. 6. 8/6/2005 (plane) are from Will's series Sublunar which explores the enduring human fascination with flight.

Aerodynamic aspirations aside, for me, these photos embody the imagined world that accompanies childhood play. It's not just the paper airplanes that put me back in classrooms where I made trouble; the gathering of individuals with a shared goal of making something fantastical reminds me of hours-long games when we imagined ourselves to be astronauts. (Or in my case, because I was a total dork, a panda in space.)

A sense of play, absurdity and fearlessness is present in much of Will's work; I admire his ability to embrace these instincts that are so often tamped down by the obligations of adulthood and propriety, employing them to explore some very grown up themes like identity, ambition and heroism. It's a delicate balance, one that he strikes successfully over and over again.

And now, it's time for me to take off and tend to the busy days ahead. I'll be speaking at the PSFK SF conference tomorrow and I've also got a party to plan. A 20x200 party, in fact! The fine folks at Crown Point Press are hosting a reception for 20x200 collectors next week. We are still ironing out the details, including the very major one of whether it will be on Tuesday or Wednesday. As soon as I've got the game plan figured out, I'll post about it on our blog. I can't wait to meet Bay Area collectors in person!

Previous Newsletter : Edition Announcement #85 - Jacob Escobedo