Artist: Erin Williams
Project Title: River Encounters (Goose! Goose!)
Location: White River Blvd & High Street
Project Statement: This project focuses on the natural encounters a citizen of Muncie may experience along the White River. More specifically, through 4 hand-drawn vignettes, it examines the natural relationship among invasive and “nuisance” species who congregate along the river banks and undergrowth. Branta canadensis, or the Canada Goose, has become a source of frequent frustration among Muncie locals who complain that the geese, and the subsequent goose poop, have created an uninviting environment along the white river pathway (Muncie looks to get rid of hundreds of bothersome geese, Herald Bulletin, 5/21/15). Similarly, other nuisance species in the Muncie area include Eastern Pokeweed, Poison Ivy, and Honeysuckle, all of which will appear in the vignettes that will wrap the signal box. These vigorous members of the Muncie community deserve recognition as parts of the complex White River ecosystem. The project will also include depictions of some man made nuisances, such as trash and refuse, which are often found along the riverbanks. The vignettes will be a reminder of the beauty of the river environment and the intricate role that humans play in that ecosystem. Neither positive nor negative in connotation, the vignettes will represent life along the White River as it exists today.
Artist Bio: Erin Colleen Williams received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Material Studies, focusing in metalsmithing and sculpture, and her BFA from Syracuse University in Metalsmithing. Using interdisciplinary media and methods, her work examines the relationship between the conscious self and hypothetical past, present, and future. Drawing from scientific principles, contemporary culture, folklore, interspecies communication, and material intelligence, Williams creates alternate realities and narratives using physical objects, drawings, photography, and printmaking practices. Her work examines western museological and archaeological practices, illustration, and documentation in order to perpetuate instances of awe and wonder in the physical world.
Williams is currently the program coordinator for PlySpace, an artist residency located in Muncie, Indiana. She has worked as a senior lecturer in Metalsmithing / Jewelry at the University of the Arts and Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA; as an Adjunct Professor in Jewelry / Metalsmithing at VCU; and as an Adjunct Professor of Drawing at Ball State University. Previously, she was the Graduate Coordinator of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, and coordinated the Graduate Programs of Museum Studies, Fine Art and Book Arts / Printmaking at the University of the Arts. Additionally, she works as an artist in Indiana and has had solo exhibitions at the Anderson Gallery in Richmond, VA, and the Arlington Art Center, in Arlington VA, among others. Her work has been exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Alliance; the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, MI; Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE; Art Space, Raleigh, NC; Travers Gallery, Seattle, WA; among others.