Dear Bill, …
I am surprised that our paths have not crossed as we have a close parallel history and most of the people that you mention in your book are/were also my close friends. My introduction you your work was as a young museum director in Sydney, Australia, where I remember hosting John Szarkowski on a lecture tour to five major cities across the country. John gave a series of slide lectures on that tour where he presented images of your photo-postcards. He was fond of the San Diego sprinkler series that you had mailed to him. I thought that they were playful, inventive and smart and I loved how they expanded the idea of how to present one’s work outside of the traditional normal channels that were, and still are, notoriously difficult to break into. I was impressed not only by your work but also by your creative approach to getting it seen.
Your book is quite magnificent. What you did editing your words from Dan Skjaevaland’s interview into enigmatic impressions and vignettes is very clear to me. It becomes some sort of equivalent to your photographs. A memory narrative seems to me to be more like short phases and stand alone words rather than polished prose. I’m particularly thrilled to see a lot more of your work and I’m happy to know of your website.
So thank you for sending your book and reacquainting me with your work. The book has a prize of place in my library...
All the best,
Graham
Graham Howe Curatorial Founder & CEO