Patterson Sims

by hcartstudent

Through listening to both Patterson Sims and Willie Cole speak about the same work, I began to gain a different respect and appreciation for the role of the curator within the art world. Though in most cases curators and artists tend to only work with each other once, Patterson and Willie had been working together for I think around ten years. It was clear that Patterson not only was familiar with Willie’s work, but with Willie himself. Having been around through difficult times in Willie’s life, Patterson seemed to have a genuine understanding of the work produced during Willie’s darker times, as well as a passion and interest in his more recent and future projects.

In both seminar, as well as Willie Cole’s talk, I was fascinated to learn about Willie’s creative process and inspiration. The moment I really connected with his work was when he began to break down and explain the extensive layering of ideas within his work. Having multiple layers is something that I like to do in my own work, but Willie beautifully demonstrated how to take it to extremes without stretching it too far.

Willie ended the talk by saying “I hope I gave you something that you can grow with.” This conclusion really got me thinking about the way that we approach what is in front of us. Whether it be a piece of art, literature, music or anything in between, it is not about liking it or disliking it, it’s about learning and growing.

-Kayla Brophy