Spotlight: Jen Williams

I’m not interested in truth in photographs; all I care about is believable fiction. Students have heard me say this numerous time during critiques.  Photographs are indeed factual but each picture is a new reality based on evidence extracted from the physical world. 

I first met Jen Williams in the early 90’s.  She was among the first students I taught when I began teaching photography at the Cooper Union as an adjunct.  As an undergraduate she embraced color photography and started to piece together photographs into large composites.  Since then she has honed her visual language of collage to construct fantastic worlds, which take us outside of our understanding of conventional space.  A master of color and design, Jen’s photographs are compositionally complex, lyrical, and whimsical.  Some of her images contain architectural references, particularly in those site-specific interior installations where she will extend details from a room (i.e. duct, light fixtures etc.) and include other objects.  The subjects of many of her pictures are everyday things that may or may no longer have a function in the “real” world but serve a purpose in her photographs to provide texture, color and form.  While creating a magical universe, Jen’s photographs are delightfully illogical in a Sorcerer’s Apprentice meets Sanford & Son sort of way.  One of the great pleasures in looking at photographs is the ability to suspend my disbelief (and in Jen’s pictures, sense of gravity) and experience something new.  Jen’s vision is beautifully described, impeccably crafted and a joy to behold.

It’s been a treat to witness the evolution and maturity of Jen’s work in the past two decades.  She is a passionate and prolific artist and definitely someone to watch.  For more examples of Jen’s work, visit her website.

http://www.jennifer-williams.com