Artist Statement

deep inside the tragic heart of the human condition, underneath and more basic [even] than the need for existential comforts [food shelter sex] there exists a paradoxical propensity: the absolute necessity and the utter futility of the human need to find order

hybridizing my peculiar past as a designer, a painter, a musician and an animator, I explore this territory through spatial psycho-perception, using manifestations of geometry as a metaphor

a line—a center line, a ley line, a line drawn in the sand, a borderline, a line of longitude or latitude, a line born from a point translated to a plane extruded to a volume [and god divided the mass from the void and there was space]—manifests the desire for order

order in turn exists as a kind of collective psychological shibboleth, a mental signifier of territory, a sisyphian stab at a reversal of entropy

to think all our wars and comforts depend on the line… a phantom, a thing that does not exist—

—but for geometry!

geometry, the image of probability: of a thing or things or relationship between things that is/are or was/were or will be, of the imaginary needle in the fuzzy data cloud haystack of the illusion of territory, of the quantum particles that constitute meaning

geometry, the fiction upon which rests our collective and necessary delusion of political, social, sexual or any other order…

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Artist Biography

williamCromar is an artist and educator based in Philadelphia. He hybridizes a peculiar blend of architecture, music, animation and artmaking into a unique body of sculptural and installation art. He was one of three collaborators who received a Silver Medal at the International Biennial of Architecture in Sofia, Bulgaria for the film order through geometry, produced with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was awarded an exhibition in the Samuel Fleisher Art Memorial’s Challenge Exhibitions, a prestigious regional competition sponsored by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and was selected as a Finalist for the Pew Fellowships in the Arts.

Solo exhibitions include halfwayhouse, an installation at Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art sponsored by inLiquid.com, and redrain at aFSe Gallery in Philadelphia. A long-term installation at Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, titled gtmo, was recently renovated for its 10th anniversary and is currently on view. He collaborated with DesignPhiladelphia in the exhibition 4/4 at Michelle Liao Collection, where his first projection installation see d’ was unveiled.

In 2008, he cofounded TangenT ArT CollaboraTive with Yvonne Love, Gabrielle Russomagno, and Mike "Slo-Mo" Brenner. TangenT is dedicated to the creation of mixed-media, project-based, immersive art environments exploring socially relevant and politically current themes through transcendent metaphor. The group enjoys exhibiting in non-traditional venues like the HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) Conference in New York, as well as publicly accessible exhibition spaces such as International House Philadelphia, which hosted the multi-media work 709b in 2012. TangenT's most ambitious project to date, RedAct, culminated in an installation at Crane Arts in Philadelphia, funded in part by a grant from the Barra Foundation in 2016.

williamCromar has exhibited nationwide, freelanced as an architectural modeling consultant, taught and lectured at the University of Pennsylvania, served as Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture at Philadelphia University, and was a visiting critic at Wesleyan University. He is currently Chair for the Penn State Abington College Art Program, where he also teaches new media art, encouraging emerging artists to create senseless acts of beauty on the Mackintosh.

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Education

1994
School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
MFA

1984
College of Architecture + Urban Studies, Virginia Polytechnic Institute + State University, Blacksburg, VA
Bachelor of Architecture, magna cum laude

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Publications

2012
“Hack,” exhibition catalog edited by Andrew Cameron Zahn, curator

“Linear Thinking,” exhibition catalog edited by Jeanne Brasile, curator

2002
“Artists at home,” edited by Judy West, Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine, October 6, 2002

2000
Grownups, artwork featured in a Bridge and Tunnel film production

1992
Mouth of Hell, record cover illustration, Miles Dethmuffen

1989
Eyes on You, record cover illustration, Mahatma Dogma

1984
“Washington Reviewed,” photomontage, CAUS Apparatus Magazine

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Collections

Webever.biz, Philadelphia, PA
InLiquid.com, Philadelphia, PA
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Boca Raton, FL
Productions Unlimited, West Palm Beach, FL
Print Archive, University of Pennsylvania
Private collections in CT, FL, MA, NC, NY, NJ, PA, WV, VA

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Affiliation

Founding member, TangenT Art Collaborative

Member, College Art Association

Member, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Charter member, Inliquid.com Art + Design Network

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Professional Experience

1988 - present
Design consultant

2009 - present
Lecturer in Art, Division of Arts and Humanities, Penn State University Abington College, Abington, PA
Coordinator, New Media concentration in Art

2007 - 2009
Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA

2003 - 2007
Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA

1995 - 2000
Lecturer, School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

1994 - 2002
Adjunct Professor, School of Architecture, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA

1994
Assistant to Isaiah Zagar, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia PA

1990 - 1991
Architectural + industrial designer, Robert Luchetti Associates, Cambridge, MA

1987 - 1989
Architectural and industrial designer, Tamarkin Techler Group, Boston, MA

1985 - 1987
Architectural designer, Charles T. Stifter, Boston, MA

1984 - 1985
Instructor, College of Architecture + Urban Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

Exhibitions

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Solo & Collaborative

2016
d1ASp0RA: a web-based exhibition, Digital Fringe, Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA

RedAct, IceBox and Grey Area, Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2015
RedAct: a web-based exhibition, Digital Fringe, Fringe Festival, Philadelphia, PA

flySpec (from RED ACT), Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, PA

2014
BROKENSPOKEN (from RED ACT), Old City Publishing, Philadelphia, PA

2012
709b, International House, Philadelphia, PA

2010
New Works by TangenT, Grossman Gallery, Lafayette College, Easton, PA

2009
709b, multimedia performance, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA

2008
Past Present: William Cromar Ten Years, Design Center, Philadelphia, PA

eco ecco echo, multimedia collaboration, Grey Area, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA

eco ecco echo, multimedia collaboration, Fairmount Avenue + 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA

2006 - 2011
gtmo, Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Philadelphia, PA, extended through 2017

2005
redrain, aFSe Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

wrcs, A + D Center Gallery, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA

2003
halfwayhouse, inLiquid at Community Gallery, Nexus Foundation for Today’s Art, Philadelphia, PA

1996
PBX, Blauhaus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

1994
Housefarm, Gutman Farm, New Hope, PA

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Group

2017OUT OF CONTEXT, Philly Tech Week, Philadelphia, PA

2016
OUT OF BOUNDS, BYOBeamer at 990 Spring Garden, Phiadelphia, PA

Digital Fringe Exhibition, CRUXspace, Philadelphia, PA

D-ART 2016, 19th International Conference Information Visualization, Lisbon, Portugal

13th International Conference on Computer Graphics, Imaging and Visualization, Beni Mellal City, Morocco

Output Art, CRUXspace, Philadelphia, PA

OUT OF FRAME, Philly Tech Week, Philadelphia, PA

Filmideo Festival, Index Art Center, Newark, NJ

2015
MaThematic, DesignPhiladelphia, Philadelphia, PA

NIGHTLIGHT Festival, Penn State Abington, Abington, PA

Anti-Defamation League Exhibition, Engagement Studios, Philadelphia, PA

Filmideo Festival, Index Art Center, Newark, NJ

Simulate|Permeate, Rowan University Art Gallery, Glassboro, NJ

2014
The Sound of Flyspec, DUMBO Arts Festival, New York, NY

A Minute of Your Time, Kimmel Center Video Cube, Philadelphia, PA

A Minute of Your Time, Commerce Square Video Wall, Philadelphia, PA

2013
Spatial Translations, Pearlstein Gallery, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

LUMEN Festival, Staten Island Arts, New York, NY

InLiquid Member Show, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA

Hack 2.0, Philadelphia, PA

2012
Linear Thinking, Seton Hall University, Newark, NJ

Hackers on Planet Earth Conference Art Exhibition, New York, NY

Hack, 1519 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

2011
Works in Wood, New Hope Arts, New Hope, PA

Letting Go, Rogue Video and Performance, October 22, Newark, NJ

Following the Line, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

2010
Into the Void, Index Art Center, Newark, NJ

2007
Hot Topic, Germantown Academy Art Center, Fort Washington, PA

Hitoshi Nakazato Tribute Exhibition, Grey Area, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA

Meandering Objects, 4 hour performance walk, Rittenhouse Square to ICA, Philadelphia, PA

4/4, Michelle Liao Antiques with InRareForm Design, Philadelphia, PA

End Game: Edward Shalala and William Cromar, Minimal Works, Philadelphia, PA

Group Exhibition, aFSe Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2006
Group Exhibition, Minimal Works, Philadelphia, PA

2004
iNTERSECTIONs, Chela Gallery, Baltimore, MD

2003
Cycles, Patterns, Intervals, Fredericskburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA

2002
in:view, InLiquid's Unfiltered Fringe, minima gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Water Music, Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, Fredericksburg, VA

No Context, 305 Brown Street, Philadelphia, PA

2001
Contemporary Philosophies, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2000
Construction, InLiquid at the Bride, Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA

1999
Printwork ‘99, 6th National Juried Exhibition, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY

1998
Challenge at 20, Fleisher Art Memorial of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

8th Annual National Juried Exhibition, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA

1997
Print Beyond, Korea Gallery, New York, NY

Anti-Archival, Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, Columbia College, Chicago, IL

2nd Biennial, Janet Turner Print Gallery, California State University, Chico, CA

Small Scale, Lake City Arts Council, Lake City, CO

Maximum Drawing Show, Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, MI

1996
National Juried Exhibition, Gallery 84, 57th Street, New York, NY

Internal/External, Artforms Gallery Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA

Faculty & Visiting Artists Exhibition, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

479 New York International Contemporary Art Exhibition, 479 Gallery, New York, NY

4th National Exhibit, Carnegie Art Center, North Tonawanda, NY

History of Folio, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

1995
Faculty & Visiting Artists Exhibition, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

Cromar Jacobs Love Shimizu, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT

Challenge 4, Fleisher Art Memorial of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

1994
KPF Invitational, The Gallery at Kohn Pedersen Fox, 57th Street, New York, NY

Images 94, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, HUB Gallery, State College, PA

Large Print Show, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA
Invitational

1993
12SEP93, Morgan Print Gallery, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

Spring Arts Competition, Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

6SPACES, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

1992
To Shatter a Myth, Ivy Artforum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA

Large Print Show, UPenn, Philadelphia, PA

1991
Sculpture On and Off the Wall, Cambridge Art Association Gallery, Cambridge, MA

Annual Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association Gallery, Cambridge, MA

1990
Annual Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association Gallery, Cambridge, MA