William Lamson at Pierogi is the Daily Pic by Blake Gopnik
In his new video, William Lamson walks on water – but it's a struggle
A still from William Lamson's "Action for the Delaware" (Courtesy the artist and Pierogi)
Jesus did it, so why not William Lamson? In his latest video projection at Pierogi gallery in Brooklyn, Lamson first shows himself walking on water. Or, if not walking, at least standing still on the surface and drifting along on a broad stretch of the peaceable Delaware River, with only birdsong for company. Then, with a brutal edit, the scene switches to Lamson splashing around in the current, struggling to climb atop the hidden platform that will keep him afloat. The shots alternate like this across the whole 14-minute piece, ping-ponging us from the raucous to the sublime and back. It’s a lovely metaphor for (almost an illustration of) the noisy struggle that’s involved in achieving any state of stasis and balance, in life or in art.
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