LACMA ACQUIRES PETER WILLIAMS' COLLAGE

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to announce that Peter Williams' collage, titled Smack,Crash, Skreech (2012), has been accessioned into the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The gallery is grateful to LACMA patron Karen Constine and to Leslie Jones, assistant curator of drawings and prints for their generous support.

Pop and comic book style imagery played a strong role in Peter Williams's work throughout his career and as in many of his collages, drawings and paintings, comic strip clippings are employed in the composition of this work. The comic book storyboard became a way for Williams to organize his narratives and are directly connected to his ongoing interest in exploring the structure and meaning of the grid in modernism. Pictured in the foreground are portraits of four black men. The figure in the lower right hand corner is an African man and the other three are younger African American men sourced from hip-hop magazines that Peter would purchase from the local 7-11 or WAWA convenience stores. 

There is a marked contrast between these men, both physically and culturally. Williams noted that these differences can be felt and seen by immigrants who have not been exposed to that culture, as well as a sense of alienation between these generations. Williams said he personally experienced isolation as a handicapped man which he felt was often viewed as taboo in his community. In the bottom left quadrant there is an abstracted hand reaching out, perhaps a welcoming gesture to the immigrant, and near the bottom center there is a door handle which may prompt different interpretations. Is it locked or open? Does it represent obstacles or opportunities? One thing is certain: Smack, Crash, Skreech is a collision of cultures.