Lloyd Lawrence - Quality Control Man

Friends since the early '80s, Lloyd Lawrence and Homer Jackson first collaborated on the installation "High Flying" in 1987 (see Interview). They have teamed up several times since then, most notably in last year's "Can't Trust a Big Butt and a Smile" at Hallwalls in Buffalo, and the recent "Last Flight of a Wingtip" at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art. On his own, Lawrence was included in 1995's tribute to John Cage as part of New York's Summer Stage in Central Park, performing his "Cereal Killer in Central Park."

Based in separate cities, Lawrence and Jackson talk weekly, often daily by telephone. Both are what Lawrence calls "phase artists," meaning that the present work is built of the resources currently available, with subject matter determined by the personal phase--religious, social, etc.--of their lives. For Lawrence, this inevitably includes an antagonistic relationship, as a black man, with mainstream America. Both he and Jackson express frustration with the avant-garde institutions and their white audiences who simply "don't get the sound, the call and response" of their work, yet they continue to work with these institutions, citing the unwillingness of comparable black organizations to risk showing their art.

But this team is hardly univocal. Lawrence describes himself as the "quality control man" on the team, and his assessment of their collaborations sometimes differs. Jackson is inclined to indiscriminately "grab people" for shows, hewing to a "political dimension" that blurs the overall focus. "High Flying," for instance, was critically weakened when Jackson insisted on including an off-message video. On at least one occasion the partnership failed to hold, and Lawrence took full control of the installation. Theirs continues to be a growing relationship, however. "You do stuff on faith with Homer," Lawrence says, "because you know he's on the up and up."

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