By Marybeth O’Connor ’15

Photo by Steve Tringali ’13/ The Lafayette

William Lamson dabbles with the physical and abstract world by throwing himself into projects, sometimes literally, in the name of art. This is why he will be creating the second proposal for the KarlStirner Arts Trail. The visiting artist was selected along with two other artists by the committee designed to improve the trail.

Lamson presented a lecture Thursday, March 1 in the Williams Visual Arts Building to discuss his path of self discovery and cultivation of his artwork from the last two years. He is a videographer and a performance, generative and installation artist, who uses everyday materials from the natural world to create filmed works that speak of the forces of physics and chemistry. Sounds created by either the creative process or by the artwork’s own vibrations and movements are often recorded by Lamson and incorporated into the final results.

Recent projects include a green house with caramelized sugar locked between panes of glass, a radio tower sculpture that has its own frequency of sound and burning sand using only a magnifying glass and sunlight.

“You try things and they develop and resonate into something you may not have thought of at first as your materials find moments of equilibrium with nature,” Lamson explained.

Lamson also discussed that a major inspiration for his work was his exploration of Chile with nothing more than the bare essentials — backpack, pencils, paper and a camera — simply to escape New York City for a little while. He created several works there using whatever he found during his travels. Subsequently, his creative process became more resourceful and sustainable. The themes of environmental consciousness have been translated into his work since 2009.

The Lafayette College Mellon Fellow students will also be creating a proposal for the trail. The Mellon Fellows are selected students of wide variety of disciplines that will design a work of art for the trail that incorporates a sense of history, awareness of the Bushkill Creek, and a specific location on the path.

Ritesh Maharjan ‘13 reflected on Lamson’s lecture. “He talked about his art and the process — which is a large part of what he does, and that is something I can relate with.”

Kayo Yamada ‘12 also weighed in on the talk. “I thought the idea of using a material that will change and biodegrade with the environment was an innovative concept.”

Lafayette and the Easton community will have to wait and see what Lamson comes up with for his proposal in the fall. Yamada hopes it will be “something that changes with time and is temporary but innovative.”

“Playing with the medium was also something that caught my attention about Lamson’s artwork,” she said. “I hope he integrates it into his proposal.”

The final visiting artist, Nancy Cohen, will present her lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday, March 29. Each of the three artists’ proposals will be displayed in Grossman Gallery.

Mellon Fellows Include:

Ritesh Maharjan ‘13

Sarah Hardy ‘14

Katie Panto ‘12

Imogen Cain ‘12

Daniel Kim ‘13

Kayo Yamada ‘12

Sandy Ma ‘13

Rebecca Stewart ‘13

Samuel Strong ‘12

Ian Crawley ‘15

Christa Martinez ‘13