Deborah
Butterfield Exhibition
Deborah Butterfield was born in San Diego in 1949 on the 75th running of the Kentucky Derby. Thus began a lifelong relationship with
horses. While she was at the University of California, Davis, studying to
be a veterinarian, she learned that part of her responsibility as a vet
would be to put animals to “sleep.” It was then she made the decision to
be an artist.
A feminist, an
environmentalist, at odds with the United States government over the war
in Vietnam, Deborah created a protest piece: a mare (a female horse) made
of sticks and mud. Why a mare? Why the sticks and mud? Butterfield stated
that horses have been used throughout the history of art as militaristic
creatures, usually stallions ridden by war heroes. She felt that the mare
symbolized the creative, nurturing side of life. The sticks and mud were
from the environment that horses live in – in fact, she used the sticks
and mud from her horse’s field. Her horse watched as Deborah Butterfield
created her first sculpture.
Since that auspicious
beginning, this artist has become world famous for her sculptures of
mares. She progressed from sticks and mud to found objects, especially
junk which she welds together. Most recently her work, while still
maintaining obvious horse qualities, has become more abstract.
The
students from Rolene AuClaire's 2001-2002 Sheppard Middle School class
presented their work in this exhibit. Each student researched the art and
life of Deborah Butterfield. Their assignment was to create a horse
sculpture in her manner. All of the work was done independently outside of
class.
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