Lynn Butler
My work, a unique visual description of beauty, reflects my deep concerns for the protection of the landscapes that are my artistic canvases. I try to capture the sense of time passing. I hope that the photographs will be a reminder that we are on the edge of a century in which the fate of many life forms, including our own, will be determined and the decision of whether to save or relinquish landscapes such as these will be of increasing urgency. From the Camargue in France, to Sleepy Hollow in New York, then from the Maine coast to California, I searched the countryside by horseback to construct a plea to witness and conserve what is unique about the natural world. I photograph while in movement, mostly from horseback. I have worked in different geographies and societies. My work includes intimate urbanized spaces, to the wider and wilder parts of American Indian culture and country. I am motivated by concern for the environment brought about by human relationships to the land that then threaten those relationships. I photographs from horseback, motorcycles, planes, amusement rides, trains and anything else that is moving. My photographs are taken with long exposures and extremely slow shutter speeds to capture the changing landscape…. Viewing life as it is today while referring to the past in a prevalent force in my subject matter. The images in my photography, while highlighting both the diversity of my subject matter and the variety of my photographic techniques, are unified by a stylistic tone that leaves room to the imagination where the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. As the specific is avoided, the photographs have an impressionistic quality capturing both the past and the present. The quality of light, the beauty of color, the optical sensations of our world all contribute to a dimension in my photographs that are romantic and mysterious, otherworldly and unique, and present the viewer with a thought provoking experience There are sacred sights where human beings feel connected presence. They are places scattered across North America. Some of them are mounds of shaped earth and pyramidal temples raised by long-since vanished builders during prehistory. They may be found on natural settings as lakes, rivers rocks and mountains where they attract the reverence of men and woman. Sacred sites are places of numerous power generated by focused spiritual energies. They are connected points of psychic energy put there by natural forces of earth and sky or created by the inter-action of human awareness and nature still resonates at the sight. They are centers of the soul of nature, the great spirit. As such, the purpose of the body of work” Nocturnal Moments” is to demonstrate that they belong to everyone, because all of us are children of the earth. Living connections between horse and nature open up for me when I ride into spiritualized environments. The places I photograph are scattered across North America. Some of them are mounds of shaped earth and pyramidal temples raised by long-since vanished builders during prehistory. They may be found on natural settings as lakes, rivers rocks and mountains where they attract the reverence of men and woman. Sacred sites are places of numerous power generated by focused spiritual energies. They are connected points of psychic energy put there by natural forces of earth and sky or created by the inter-action of human awareness and nature still resonates at the sight. They are centers of the soul of nature, the great sprit. As such, the purpose of my photography is to demonstrate that they belong to everyone, because all of us are children of the earth.
Resume
Born in New York City, 1953 Lives in Thompson Ridge, NY Education Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, B.A., 1974 Rochester Institute of Technology, 1976 Winnona School of Photography, Indiana, 1977 International Center of Photography, NY, Certificate, 1984 International Center of Photography, France, 1986 College of New Rochelle, NY, M.A.E., 1986
