International artist Samuel Williams came to Milwaukee to provide the directions for the final sculptures at the University of Wisconsin Peck School of the Arts Inova Gallery in his exhibition “Samuel Williams: Instructions.” Previously at his home in the United Kingdom, Williams had been viewing a floor plan of the gallery through 3-D renderings on a computer, along with the artwork completed everyday according to his specifications. From this vantage point Milwaukee's North Side neighborhood was also familiar to him, including the merchants surrounding the Inova gallery, which he incorporated into the artwork. At a Friday night reception several weeks ago, Williams was seeing the competed art and gallery firsthand after flying into Milwaukee from England that very afternoon. The recent 2011 Fine Art Sculpture graduate from London's Kensington Royal Academy of Art was gracious enough to answer a few questions before the gallery filled with visitors.
How was it creating art and an entire exhibition across an ocean and half a country away?
The premise was quite refreshing, really. Sometimes you can become very controlling of your own work and this allows you to be removed and hands off. It's unpredictable how it's interpreted [the instructions Williams gave to the students] and quite fascinating to watch coming over the computer [the pictures of the finished artwork].
Is that how you kept an eye on the exhibition during the month it was in progress?
There's a blog running on the show, and the pictures were tiny. I kept squinting at the pictures on the [computer] screen, and have been looking [at the artwork] on line the entire time. So coming in and really seeing the exhibition…I'm blown away by the space…how the works come together. Now the exhibition is bigger than life. The works are sort of like movie stars [that I've seen on the screen, and now in person].
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What piece interests you the most in the gallery? I know you've only been here in Milwaukee a few hours.
This one…#6 Pillars. In this piece I used an existing pillar in the gallery and provided conflicting instructions for several persons or groups to work on and attach art or objects to the pillar. It involved how to arrange chaos, and then fight for one's own system [in finding the objects], and then arranging the items on the pillar by color. I'm really pleased with how each side was finished.
What else excites you about this project/exhibition?
I'm just beginning to take it all in. And I'm really blown away by how much people have given to it. I'm amazed by the energy and creativity, how they have shaped things in their own [the students and volunteers] way. This involved a very big extension of my arms working to create art and an exhibition in another country.
Any future exhibitions planned in 2011?
I have a very big exhibition at the Royal College of Art in about three or four weeks. I'm making a film about the Hollywood aesthetics. Then there's an exhibition at London's Bloomberg New Contemporary [located in Sheffield] this fall, which I'm working on as well. Visit my website at www.samuel-williams.co.uk to find out about my upcoming schedule and any new work in film or sculpture.
Visit the Peck School of the Arts exhibition "Samuel Williams: Instructions" in their Inova Gallery through June 19.
