L.A. Inner Vision

Of all Williams’s violin paintings, this is the only one with strings. The planes of the violin’s belly are peeled open for the artist himself is radiantly naked and vulnerable, at one with his deafness and with life. His entire being is lit by the sun. All four turning pegs are intact, and the strings beg to be played. Williams realized that he did experience sound as inner rhythm, and joyously embraced this fact without denying or rejecting his deafness. The water below is a familiar scene in his native city of Los Angeles, and his home in Santa Ana Heights is located at the lower left of the canvas.

Harry R. Williams

L.A. Inner Vision

Santa Ana Heights, 1990

Oil on wood

A violin that has been split in half and opened. Through it, the viewer can see a sun rising from the water and a beach. The ground is covered in water lilies.

Reproduced from Deaf Art Note Card Series: Works of Harry R. Williams
Courtesy of DawnSignPress