House Calls With William Carlos Williams

Description

In 2001, photographer Thomas Roma was given access to the addresses of the patients of William Carlos Williams - successful doctor and legendary poet in the 1940s and 50s. These addresses were plotted on a map, becoming the route that Roma travelled and recorded over the next five years, retracing Williams' footsteps from decades past. Dr Williams would travel from Rutherford, New Jersey to Paterson, New Jersey, stopping to attend to his patients en route. Roma's photographic re-treading of this journey is an immersive experience.

Robert Coles is a physician and writer, who compiled and edited The Doctor Stories of William Carlos Williams (New Directions, 1984) and wrote William Carlos Williams: The Knack of Survival in America (Rutgers University Press, 1982). Thomas Roma: Twice the recipient of Guggenheim Fellowships and a New York State Council for the Arts Fellowship, Mr. Roma's work has appeared in one-person and group exhibitions internationally, including one-person shows with accompanying books at the Museum of Modern Art NY and the International Center of Photography. He has published 14 monographs to date and has taught photography since 1983, becoming the Director of Photography at Columbia University School of the Arts in 1996 where he is a Professor of Art. His work is in numerous collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and The Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal.