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The Art Of Subversion 

Cordelia Williams takes it to the limit

So I'm reading Cordelia Williams' artist statement (an explanation of intent, in the artist's own words, that accompanies an exhibit) and the phrase "the subversive act of using traditions for my own purposes" stops me cold.

Wow! Of course art is a subversive act! Many would disagree that every act of creativity, be it humor, music, drama, architecture, cooking, poetry or any other aesthetic endeavor, is an act of defiance, a way of spitting in the eye of authority. But I believe it's the artist's duty to manipulate reality in such a way as to discover or reveal truth -- a dirty job that they've undertaken gladly. And those who do it consciously -- the Duchamps, the Chicagos, the Mapplethorpes, the Gehrys -- have been called courageous.

However, insubordination and treason are not what come to mind when you look at Williams' photographic work, which will be included in The Light Factory's Members Show in August. I mean, we're talking cloth dolls, fairies and kitty cats here. Childish realms of make-believe. Princess costumes and magic.

Such images, objects and mentalities we think of as sentimental, innocent and, therefore, harmless -- certainly not intellectual, conceptual or political. But spend half an hour with the artist and you'll think otherwise.

Example: Williams' latest oeuvre is a book. Or at least that's what she calls it. Some might call it a box (it started out life as a three-drawer jewel case), even though it holds words and pictures, either on loose pages or accordion-style, that tell a story. How dare this quiet creature from Charlotte, North Carolina, take a sacred object, which has served us just fine in its traditional form for hundreds of years, and -- gasp! -- change it?

Thus begins a lesson in ownership that expresses Williams' firm feminist grounding. It continues with the subject matter of her book -- family relationships, identity issues, community -- which "gives voice to a modern woman and mother," a voice that, in a pre-feminist era, might have been silenced. Furthermore, her emphasis on things unseen -- the science behind the sleight of hand, the technology behind the photograph, the conceits behind the imagination -- refers to a kind of introversion, a turning inward, that has characterized women throughout the ages. Add to that the fact that needlework, the primary medium for her soft sculptures, has also been dismissed as a traditional woman's craft (to distinguish it from the more worthy men's art), and you have a strong statement about personal integrity.

On the other hand, if what anthropologists tell us is true -- that if we want to know about the tribe, we should study one family in the tribe -- then Williams' narrative is a valuable chronicle of a certain time, place, and circumstance.

"I'm fascinated," she says, "with the changing landscape of the American family."

Given that her book is clad in a romantic purple velvet, one would expect that the story would begin "Once upon a time...." In this case, the time is the 1980s, when Williams was a single mother raising two teenagers. The "illustrations" -- images that convey the personalities of the children and the principles that governed their lives at the time -- are photographs of parties her teens gave at home. They show groups of girls and boys in outrageous (for Charlotte) punk get-up in front of rock posters and graffiti. There's a strong sense that Williams, the mother, has encouraged such expressions; that she has, in fact, provided them a safe haven in a hostile world. But not to the point that she won't serve as a benign chaperone under the guise of observant photographer.

Roscoe Fox and Caitlin Williams, now grown, take their family experiences both seriously and lightly. Caitlin, for instance, has always been on stage. "Every action of mine has been a work of art, every mood a manifestation of an archetype. I was born and raised to be a goddess, documented for the world to see. My mother's documentation has given me a wonderful and powerful sense of self."

Photography is Williams' main medium. She uses it, however, merely as a departure point for stretching traditional art forms to their limits. Thus, most of her prints have been overpainted or drawn so the original images in them are pulled into other dimensions -- or else the images are transferred to other forms such as the dolls. One of her most popular commissions are baby portraits, where real infants' faces appear on bodies with wings, halos and gowns of old lace and sequins.

You can take the dolls, and the installations they often appear in, as either simple objects of delight or symbols of other levels of existence. Says Roscoe: "My parents instilled in me that a creative life is a life that is always present with the knowledge of something mysterious, and to always have one eye focused on the deeper meaning of experience."

Williams, who also teaches at CPCC, has been a member of the Light Factory since its inception in the 1970s. Because of its grassroots origins, the organization boasts of having both professional and amateur members, and uses its annual Members Show to spotlight the wide variety of talents and interests they possess. It's a great way to see who's doing what with a camera around here.

The Light Factory's Annual Members Show runs from July 30-September 2 at Spirit Square, 345 N. College Street. Hours: 10am-6pm Monday-Friday, 1-5pm Saturday and Sunday. For more info, call 704-333-9755, or go online to www.lightfactory.org.

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