Passages by Thomas Parker Williams
Thomas Parker Williams: “’Passages,’ a work in my WORDLESS – Painted and Drawn Narratives series, is a nine-part artist book with an accompanying nine-part musical score. All art, music composition and performance is my work.
“First, I composed the musical suite as an impression of a journey through periods of a possible lifetime that may or may not resemble my own. The music is illustrated by drawings on double-sided paper panels executed in a variety of inks and wet media. There are from three to seven panels for each of the nine parts of ‘Passages’ for a total of 41 panels with 82 original drawings.
“Each drawing incorporates a badge in the lower right-hand corner that references colors of a particular position of the spectrum. The badge contains an arrow and a dot indicating whether the drawing is considered primary or secondary.
“Each panel includes one magnet and three small pieces of steel. This allows for linking the images together in many combinations to illustrate the multiple pathways, choices, or alternate universes that may exist in a lifetime journey.
“The panels for each passage are enclosed in a polycarbonate envelope with a closure clasp illustrated with the number of the passage, a color spectrum, and a graphic representation of the musical elements. All nine envelopes, plus a tenth with information and electronic files, are contained in an acrylic case.”
Processes, Dimensions, and Edition Information
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Thomas Parker Williams, 2024. One-of-a-Kind.
Book – 10 polycarbonate envelopes with catch and colored spectrum panel Each envelope 12.25 x 12.25 x .5”. Each of the 9 sections contains from 3 to 7 double sided panels on Strathmore acrylic paper with magnet and steel areas. Medium - Panels, Acrylic ink, watercolor, dry pigments in alkyd medium, colored pencil and pigment markers.
Case – 13” x 13” x 7.5, cast acrylic. Envelope no. 10 contains digital music, video files and text. Original music composition, "Passages" composed, performed and recorded by Thomas Parker Williams. All artwork, case, envelopes and music by the artist.