Curator's Notes: Spotlight on Lynn H. Butler

Lynn H. Butler, After

Lynn Hyman Butler is an internationally recognized artist, whose photographs belong to numerous public and private collections, most notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Brooklyn Museum; La Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; the International Center of  Photography in New York; Red Heart Inc, Kobe, Japan; and the David Rockefeller Collection,Tarrytown, NY.  Her work focuses on nature and our relationship to its fragility in our contemporary world.  She wrote: "I am motivated by the concern for the environment brought about by human relationships to the land that threaten those relationships." For Bosom Bodies, she contributed a personal narrative, which coincides with the theme of our exhibition.  Within this group, Buffer Lands demonstrates lenticular photography, which produces different images as the viewer moves from left to right to left in front of the picture.

Lynn H. Butler, Buffer Lands, 

Lenticular photography

Lynn's artist's statement explains: "My three pieces of artwork in the show Bosom Buddies are three stages of knowing that one may possibly have cancer, learning that cancer is a reality and then accepting what the consequences are. The first stage is denial, then facing the possibility of mortality in the second stage and photograph, and the third  stage and  photograph is coming to terms and being at peace on Earth with  one's body and the surroundings. The photograph called After is the denial, the photograph Buffer Lands is the facing of the mortality and the Woman on Horseback is the final stage of resting in peace with the outcome."

Lynn H. Butler, Peace

The fact that Lynn created an image of peace as a woman on horseback relates directly to her working method as a photographer: "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."  From this perch, the artist finds her evocative subjects that she transforms, through the process of photo development, into imagery reminiscent of Impressionism.

Lynn has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants.  Most recently, she received one from the Ministry de Culture, Espace Malraux Scene Nationale de Chambéry et de la Savoie, France; Best Art Photographer, Newsweek, Selection for I.C.P. Infinity Awards; and First Prize, Washington Thoroughbred Associated Art Show, Seattle.

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Bosom Bodies: An Exhibition in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness closed on October 29th.  However, the artists' work remains on view on our Facebook page and on our Bosom Bodies blog.  Please visit us often and share these sites with your friends.

Bosom Bodies is a 

Project