I thought these sculptures by Kathy Butterly would compliment the pieces from Ken Price that I showed yesterday. I'm a total nut for bizarre, abstract, color-infused sculptures that remind me of art I might find if I lived in a Dr. Seuss story. Can't you just picture a a Who from Whoville riding away wildly on one of these contraptions playing yet another like a bubbling bag-pipe?
(images via American Craft Magazine, MocoLoco, ArtNet, Daniel Weiner, and Soho Photographer)
3 comments:
You know,I love abstract,weird stuff as well, and I like Ken Price, Sergei Isupov, et al, but these don't do a thing for me.
Are these supposed to be the serious output of someone thathas struggled to find their artistic voice, refine their vision, and techniques? This is IT?
I have seen better work from blase, disaffected high-school students.
It's work like this that makes me think people just don't give a damn anymore - about what they make,how well they make it, or about saying anything other than "I don't give a shit."
Your blog is very good, but this work (and some other that has preceded it) is lacking.
-Adero
Wow, Adero, I'm so surprised that you feel this way about Butterly's work. I am so glad you said something, because I think too often people silence their negative reactions to artwork. I think all reactions are equally of value and great import to the development of art.
That being said, sometimes I think when we see three dimensional objects, artful or otherwise, represented two-dimensionally we lack the proper experience to rightfully, or wholefully, judge them. When I look at three-dimensional work in photographs I always try to remember this and give credit accordingly. With Beverly's work, there was something in the color, shape, and detail that told me this artist works with precise intention. I very well might be wrong, but only talking to the artist herself or viewing the work in the physical world would allow me to finalize that opinion.
I find it very interesting that you think this artist has an 'I don't give a shit' aesthetic because I see the work and think almost the opposite about it. I also think that some people confuse surrealist abstraction with lack of intent because a lot of the time the work comes across as very loose and spontaneous which directly opposes our expectations of abstraction which are usually geared towards formlessness or rigidness...
Anyway, I'm getting carried away here, but thanks so much again for saying something. You made me think a lot more about these pieces and it was a nice exercise...
Hey Jesse,
I thought I had you e-mail address but I'm not finding it... here's my e-mail (everyone else close your eyes please) Zygote@fetishghost.com
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