Deborah Butterfield ~ Dance Horse and relative at Purdue

Yes, I know. We look similar. And we're related. Deborah Butterfield, the sculptor who created us, makes horses. Some say she has a horse obsession. If you're looking for us, you find us everywhere. A few of us have been able to stay home in Montana. Others of us have have been let loose so to speak and now live elsewhere. Some of us are still inside like I used to be when I first came to the Portland Art Museum. Others of us now live outside like my still unnamed relative (seen in the image above) who just arrived last month at Purdue University in Indiana. Yikes, it's cold there and she is out in front of the Yue-Kong Pao Hall, which opened in 2005. That's the home to the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Visual and Performing Arts.

Much as I do, this horse looks like she's made of wood. I really like the whole positive, negative space thing people talk about – how you can see me for all of what I am and could be in your eyes, but not at the same time. Then look close and you can see the texture and color of wood. Some people actually touch me, expecting that I'll feel softer than the bronze I'm made of, more like the driftwood they "see" with their eyes. How did Butterfield do this? From a collection of wooden sticks, logs and branches, she creates my being. Then there's a lot more work that is best described in this article written about my Purdue relative...

"Photographs of the sculpture were taken before it was carefully disassembled. The individual pieces were then covered with a ceramic mold material that was fired in a kiln, burning away the wood but leaving an impression in the ceramic. After cleaning, the molds were used to cast replicas of the original wood in bronze, and then the molds were destroyed when the bronze was removed to ensure the sculpture is unique. After reassembly of the various parts, the bronze was then treated with a chemical solution that formed a patina that closely emulates the character of the original wood. In most cases, the patina and texture are so effective that viewers believe they are actually viewing a wooden sculpture."

In any case, I may or may not weigh more than the Purdue horse, who everyone says weighs 1,700 pounds. If only more of you would bring me apples and carrots, I know I'd best her on the scales.

Deborah Butterfield ~ Dance Horse and the Kentucky Derby

Deborah Butterfield is known worldwide for her horses, better known than Michael Brophy whose painting hung behind Dance Horse back in 1999. Perhaps it's having horses be the core of her ouvere. In any case, her sculptures, and they are of horses, are in the collections of almost all of the major museums in the country. How did this fascination start? Many biographies cite that she was born in San Diego, California, on the day of the 75th running of the Kentucky Derby and that Butterfield herself credits this event as determining her career as a modernist sculptor of horses.

Listening to her talk about the core of her work, she tells us of how we changed the horse and the horse changed us. These videos, recorded at a presentation to docents at the Nevada Art Museum in November 2007, are short and will take just a few minutes to view. Listening to Butterfield talk about her work is most compelling.

Deborah Butterfield ~ Dance Horse, Inside

Ten years ago, Dance Horse lived inside. Here is a shot of Deborah Butterfield's sculpture on the 4th Floor of the Hoffman Wing at the Portland Art Museum in 1999. Standing as regal as it does out in the Sculpture Garden today, it somehow has a different overall aura. I feel less like offering it an apple or a carrot. Why is that?

Take a tour through Flickr.com using the tags Portland, art, and museum. You'll see any number of photos. Now go to the museum's official website and read the rules. I have been fascinated by what people have taken photos of and then chosen to upload on Flickr. All of that takes intention. And intention defines a major portion of modern art.

Deborah Butterfield ~ Dance Horse

When you're walking by the Portland Art Museum, you're able to see a portion of the collection without even stepping through the doors, let alone paying admission. This week's selection here at Fifty Two Pieces is one of the many sculptures in the outdoor Sculpture Garden. Rain or shine, day or night, Deborah Butterfield's Dance Horse stands as if looking for a carrot, apple or maybe some alfalfa. Butterfield is known for her horse sculptures. This week well be looking more closely at Dance Horse as well as some of the others that she has created over the years and released into the wild.