Patiently Fast Forward, analog collage

Original Art by: Amber Williams
Original Music by: Jeff Tady, "Dizzy Spell"

When I was staying with my mother, Autumn 2015—Spring 2016, I created three of my all-time favorite collages. This one was awarded Best in Show for the Revive 2 Recycled Art Exhibition, August 2016, at Bucktown Center for the Arts, Davenport, Iowa. There wasn’t a Revive 3. Bucktown Center for the Arts has been closed since 2020. The flood and levee breach of 2019, followed by the pandemic really hit the Quad City art community hard. Like with this piece, I am often trying to patiently fast forward.

During its creation, I remembered being a kid, fast forwarding a VHS tape to the desired spot. The footage on the screen would go by faster than watching the whole tape, but it just did not go by fast enough... I knew that if I was just patient, while also working hard, there were good things to come. It was just the sticky waiting. A gentle stream comes forward through the trees, patiently. There might be somewhere else to go, but the present is quite lovely.

Lastly, thank you to Jeff Tady for giving me permission and access to his original music: "Dizzy Spell".