post the eleventh // whitney response

Robert Williams // Tam Tran

The two artists i chose to compare from the trip to the Whitnet Biennial were Robert Williams and Tam Tran, both of whose works in the exhibition displayed an extraordinary sense of imagination and wonder, through two completely different methods and techniques. Williams’ paintings on display could be best described as “insane”. His watercolors convey ridiculous scenes, depicting scenes that have no real grounds in reality or intention of obeying the laws of physics. His works are full of pure imaginative spirit, which transitions us to the other piece in the exhibition I found to be very interesting: Tam Tran’s “Raising Hell”, a series of photographs in which a small child pretends to be a superhero, wearing a makeshift towel cape, spiderman pajamas, and wielding a stick as a weapon. I feel that this is, in a much more subtle way, just as representative of imagination and creativity as Williams’ paintings. The photos capture the act of imagination, rather than show the end result of said thought process, and is somehow more pure in its display of creativity. It is a passive act of imagining, whereas Williams’ watercolors are an active display of creativity.