Pat Ward Williams, a Los Angeles based artist-photographer, was the fourth visiting artist in the NEA-Sponsored Photo-Active Feminist Series. Currently an Associate Professor of Art at the University of California- Irvine, acclaimed artist Williams works in a variety of media, often combining photographs, objects, and text. Her powerful work probes the constructs of racial and gender identity, often exploring the role of race and personal identity among African-Americans in the United States. Williams’ work is not only aesthetically remarkable, but it also challenges its viewers to confront racial issues in society today.
Pat Ward Williams has produced, in the last two decades, a remarkable and diverse body of work. Her pieces range from the confrontational 3-dimensional installment with text, video, furniture, documents, and photographs piece “Move?” to the social commentary on African-American women’s obsession with hair in “O She Gotta Head Fulla Hair.” During the week of November 20, Pat Ward Williams visited with students, faculty, and the broader community at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Six students, along with professor Carol Jacobsen and graduate student assistant Shawn …, hosted the artist and entertained her throughout the week. Check out photos and documentation of her visit, as recorded by these students and others in the Photo-Active Feminist class.
www.umich.edu/~ws483/pww.htm