Spoken: Making Maps: The Art of James Williams

Human beings draw maps to document their understanding of what is known. In truth, maps are continuously morphing layouts of geographic landscapes, people, and ideas. In Making Maps: The Art of James Williams, the artist explores the world around him, creating graphic representations of his spatial reality: restaurants, amusement parks, the geometric patterns of trash, found objects, and more. This exploration is made through a series of works where Williams acts as a traveler, investigating different spaces through maps of dense, layered color, abstract paintings, ink, tape, paper-weaving, and graphite. Just as we settle into what is known, the artist leads us on to a new adventure, seeking new places to discover, inviting viewers to make maps of their own regardless of whether they feel lost or found. This show, Williams' first museum show, is about possibilities and perspectives. It is about how each of us creates relational, physical, and emotional maps each day of our own choosing as we navigate our complicated interiors and exteriors.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.