William Lamson

Drift

The idea of the living in balance with nature is the inspiration for the performance, audio and video project called Drift. I propose a performance in which I will stand onthe surface of the Paiva, moving slowly down the last 28 kilometers of the river until it opens up to the Douro. To do this, I will build a simple floatation device that is calibrated to my weight but remains entirely submerged except for a small disc just below my feet. A pair of fiberglass boots mounted to the vessel will hold my feet in place and help me keep my balance. This project situates my body in a delicate equilibrium with the river surface. Moving slowly with the invisible force of the current, Drift will allow me to experience the Paiva river in an intimate way, one in which I have given up control of my movement to the river it self. From this position of vulnerability, I will make a series of field recordings that will become the score of a minimalist piece. Sequenced with this audio piece will be a video documenting my slow progression down river.

Project Chronology

On site at Residency

Days 1-5, Build, test and calibrate floatation device in the Paiva by Nodar.

Day 5-7, Scout 28 Kilometer journey down river, determine locations from which to document journey.

Days 8-14, Launch vessel and begin 28 Kilometer journey down river.

While in residence at Binaural, I made a recording on the bridge that crosses over the Paiva river. By connecting a water bottle floating in the rapids to two rocks hanging from the railing of the bridge, a delicate balance is created in which the rocks are pulled away from the railing by the force of the current. Periodically, the bottle will find slackwater causing the rocks to bump into the railing initiating a series of vibrations that Irecorded with two contact microphones. The resulting recording sounds like the ringing of a gong, a deep resonant sound that seemingly never ends.

William Lamson is a Brooklyn-based artist who works in audio/video, photography, performance and sculpture. His work is in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and a number of private collections. In 2009, he was awarded a MacDowell fellowship to work on a public sculpture as part of a solo show at Artspace New Haven. Since graduating from the Bard MFA program in 2006, his work has been shown at P.S.1, The Brooklyn Museum, Franklin Art Works in Minneapolis and the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe, among others.