Artist William Damon eagerly opens a large package that has just been delivered to Gallery 4, an artist-owned cooperative in downtown Fargo where he has been a member and displayed his work for 30 years.
“Growing up, my dad worked for a farmer that had horses, so horses were the first thing I ever started drawing. Ever since, I’ve had a love for horses. My parents were so encouraging of me. One time there was a magazine with a horse on the cover. Knowing I loved horses, my dad bought it for me just so I can have that horse.”
His love of horses is still evident in his shining eyes as he carefully unwraps two new photo collages and sets them up for display. One in color, one in black and white, the images of wild horses from Medora are graceful and compelling. The pieces are typical of Bill’s work, which focuses on the openness of the landscape in the upper Midwest and, as with the horses, the inhabitants of it.
“I grew up in Iowa, which is largely wooded and hilly. When I moved to North Dakota, the openness of the landscape expanded my horizons. The lakes of Minnesota, the mountains of Montana, the Glacier National Park in Montana. I love the sense of space,” Bill said. “The phrase I like to use is ‘Where your spirit rides the wind.’ Once I was camped out in the country by myself, and I was laying on my back looking up at the sky. I could hear the birds and the wind moving through the grasses, and I felt swept away. Peaceful. I want to share that with people.”
