M. Dee Butensky, Brooklyn, NY

"Awakening" 7" X 8" X 15" Bronze

"Twilight" 5" X 4" X 15" Bronze

"Two Figures II" 11" X 7" X 12" Bronze

When I enter my studio,
I am alone with my clay, my wax,
my tools. I leave my preconceptions
behind me and have only a vague image
in mind; often my hands, seemingly
independent surprise me with their
creations. If I allow my intellect to
step in, trying to force a form around
an idea, I find my work becomes superficial.
Instead of interfacing with this process, I
limit my concious involvement to "visual
editor"-ensuring that the sculpture is well
crafted and flows in an esthetically pleasing
fashion. As a result, when asked the question
"what does it mean?" I feel I have little to
offer. While I always do come to understand
my sculptures in terms of my own particular
life experiences, I cannot expect that my
viewing audience will necessarily be able to
relate to those experiences. Each viewer
will bring to my work his or her own unique
perspective. At the same time, I believe that
the emotions I am expressing are universal.
Therefore, I answer the question, "what does it mean?"
with another question: "what does it mean to you?"
Much like a piece of music without lyrics, my work
has a definite feeling, an orchestration of form
that creates a particular mood. My interest as an
artist is not to direct a narrative; I have no
conclusions to present, no definitive statement to make.
My greatest hope is that my audience will be moved
by my sculpture; that they will be able to find something
of their own lives in it; that they will come away from
my work with an understanding of what I felt when I was
alone in my studio with my materials."

M. Dee Butensky