Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Filled with hues of caramel and auburn encased by a lime green sky, Recess Coffee stands in the center of “Westcott World,” one of many photographs displayed in William Rollins Hall Jr.’s most recent exhibit at Petit Branch Library.

“(Hall’s photography) makes me see normal everyday people and sites in a different and new way,” librarian Simcha Glassman said.

The exhibit takes center stage at the library, located in Syracuse’s University Neighborhood. Hall’s photography encapsulates different scenes from the surrounding Westcott Street area and features a series of heavily photoshopped photographs, all edited by Hall on Adobe Photoshop.

Glassman has been working at the Petit Branch Library for close to a year. As adult service librarian, she coordinates adult programming and maintains the adult collection, along with coordinating the rotating art exhibit at the library. She said Hall’s work is “altered photography.”

Hall’s artistic journey began at age 12 when he drew cartoons and created homemade birthday and Christmas cards for his relatives. His journey as an artist works without “editors or sponsors,” fully allowing him total artistic freedom.

“I can speak what I believe to be the truth,” Hall said. “With my cartoons and pictures that might not have a chance of appearing in print.”

Hall has been curating art exhibits and showings for many years. For the past two decades, Hall has worked with Petit Branch Library to showcase his photographs. He also shows them at other Westcott spots like Recess Coffee, where he’s displayed a daily picture since 2009.

Recess owner Adam Williams opened the local coffee shop in 2007 and oversees all operations of the business. Williams said Hall’s art is a reflection of his unique personality.

“Bill (Hall) has been coming into Recess every day for like ten-plus years and swapping out an art piece on our front counter,” Williams said. “(Hall’s) a part of (the) Recess story and his daily visits are a part of our day.”

While curating his photography, Hall associates the photos with a quote of his choosing. He is often inspired by the messages of the First Amendment and resonates with the likes of Upton Sinclair and other pro-free speech artists and writers.

“I’m like a living uncensored newspaper,” Hall said.

The quotes associated with Hall’s art stem from a number of outlets, such as celebrities or Hall himself. He said he would “make up a poem or make a statement” that fits whatever photo or cartoon he is curating that day.

As the coordinator of art exhibits at Petit Branch Library, Glassman reached out to Hall to produce the limited exhibit. Glassman said Hall’s art is “supposed to make people think.”

“Even when I go grocery shopping I have (the camera) with me,” Hall said. “You never know when a flying saucer or Bigfoot or the Mayor of Syracuse will appear.”

Hall takes nearly two thousand photos per day. After capturing these photos, he meticulously goes through them one by one, using Adobe Photoshop to edit them diligently. He looks at “each picture like a puzzle,” Hall said. It takes hours to get an image that is just right.

His artistic process begins early in the morning and sometimes ends as late as 2 a.m. He never leaves his house without his Canon camera.

“When I have a sizable amount I burn them onto a disc to save them. And then (I) narrow down the number of pictures and burn those onto another disc,” Hall said. “I take (the pictures) to Syracuse Blue Print located on East Genesee Street to be printed.”

Photography is not only Hall’s profession. He also uses his art and photography as a distraction from the tribulations of everyday life. He believes that art functions as a distraction.

“Whether rich or poor, everyone has problems in life and focusing on an interesting image provides a diversion from those problems,” Hall said. “That is the service I provide.”

Published on November 14, 2023 at 10:44 pm