William Goodman

The Postwar Upheaval of the Mechanical Family

William Goodman's The Postwar Upheaval of the Mechanical Family is a sardonic yet tender examination of two important psychological and socioeconomic impacts of World War II: the fragmentation of the American family and the intensified influence of consumerism.

The thematic content of the exhibition is evinced by means of quasi-assiduous juxtapositions of painted and photographic images, typographic fragments, and negative space, which coalesce to yield a tacit nostalgia for nostalgia. The predominant pieces-wry, comical compositions with mildly vitriolic titles-rely on techniques and styles from prewar artistic movements to convey a disdain for the seeds of conspicuous consumption that germinated during the postwar years, and many of the tender pieces, such as Vanishing Apparition and Binding Sisterhood, are sparsely populated collages whose melancholic sentiment is heightened by self-styled "ancestor" photos taken by William's paternal grandfather during his naval enlistment in the Second World War.

William's work has recently been exhibited at Brick Gallery (Clarksdale, MS), cyt O. gallery (Chicago, IL), and The Cedars (Jackson, MS), and in 2006 his art appeared in the Katrina Remembered exhibitions at District Fine Arts (Washington, DC) and the DUMBO Arts Festival (New York, NY). Corporate collectors include Viking Range. William lives and works in Jackson.