Privacy, More or Less by William VB

William VB is an interdisciplinary artist earning his MFA at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He holds a BFA in Photography and Digital Media from the University of Houston. His work integrates photography, sculpture, printmaking, and installation, creating spaces made for slow contemplation. Exploring the poetry within everyday materials, he examines the tensions beneath the surface of the American suburban aesthetic. As a longtime experimental musician and sound designer, Burkholder incorporates audio into his visual practice and has collaborated with dozens of artists. His work has been exhibited throughout Texas. He has taught photography and art appreciation at TAMU-CC.

Privacy, More or Less is a collection of images, sculpture, sound, and installation that invites a closer look at the familiar. The artwork recontextualizes the American suburban aesthetic, exploring the nuanced and tense relationship between privacy and community that every neighborly relationship must navigate. My work is rooted in a daily practice of careful observation and street photography. Through image sequencing and experimental printmaking, the visuals of a typical backyard are reused and reimagined. The 3d works in the show are built from common items, but altered and combined to create a dream-like environment that is laced with subtle but consistent tension. Wandering through my neighborhood and the shopping centers that surround my home allows time to take photos, and highlight overlooked spaces and moments by sealing them permanently within a photograph. These walks, which I consider precious, also give time to reflect on the materials of the neighborhood–cedar privacy fences, grass, baseballs, and the competing sounds of dogs barking and lawnmowers. These objects of Americana are rearranged and reoriented, becoming grounds for poetic mystery. There are many connections to my personal history buried within this exhibition, but I invite visitors to explore their own histories, associations, and questions within the space.

All Archival Pigment Prints are printed on Hahnemühle 100% Cotton Paper.