William LaChance – Summer Camp 2023

Silkscreen print, edition of 50, signed and numbered by the artist, unframed

Destination: Joseph, Oregon

Date: September 11 - September 15, 2023

Jaunt #099

approx. 27.5"h x 19.75"w, 70cm x 50cm

"The Summer Camp was a great change of pace from my routine studio practice to hanging out with a group of just artists. Getting to know them on a personal level and observing their processes was amazing. It felt a little like being in art school all over again and I loved every minute of it! 

The natural beauty of Joseph made a lot of impression on me. It felt vast and tiny at the same time. The idea of this part of the country looms large in the collective conscience as the subject of so many movies etc. Having never been there before I was surprised by the verisimilitude of these portrayals. The area seems unchanged in many ways. Even the town was like a movie set and after a couple of days of remembering faces the residents seemed like characters in a play. 

For the print, I made an image to reflect the idea of the landscape being like a theater or film set and taking on a narrative quality by virtue of its residents. The image is a grisaille, painterly abstract landscape populated by a single, overtly artificial figure silhouette. The figure itself is adorned with a nature based pattern that is a nod to Nez Perce beadwork. The figure / ground relationship and shallow, plastic space are meant to recall antique puppet theaters to emphasize the idea of narrative and artifice." 

–William LaChance