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The National Parks Project- A Presentation by Harlan Butt
October 14, 2018 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm PDT
The public is invited to attend this ground-breaking presentation by renowned enamelist and metalsmith, Harlan Butt. Beginning in 2003 he created vessels that were inspired by extended visits to a series of National Parks. Butt’s presentation is a heartfelt plea to preserve our dwindling natural resources.
The historical connection between artists and our National Parks has existed since their inception. In fact, artists were fundamental in the establishment of many of the parks including the first National Park, Yellowstone, in 1872. His presentation will include some history of the parks and the involvement of artists in their formation but he will also talk about AIR, the Artist-in-Residence program, that is open to all artists working in North America and beyond. The program supports artists at specific parks, offering them a place to do their creative work.
Yellowstone Vessel #1
In this presentation he shows some of the enameled vessels that reflect the elements of the parks he has explored, including: Olympic (WA), Organ Pipe (AZ), Big Cypress (FL), Arches (UT), Black Canyon of the Gunnison (CO), Yellowstone (WY), Canyonlands (UT), Denali (AK), Grand Canyon (AZ), Acadia (ME) and Zion (UT).
Exerpt from his thoughts on Denali Jar I as seen above:
Haiku:
Thirteen caribou
Walking up East Fork River,
As silent as ghosts.
The imagery on the jar is of the mountain range south of East Fork Cabin and the silvery pattern of lines running vertically in cloisonné suggest the braided character of the rivers in Denali. On the top of the jar is a landscape of the earth at our feet, including simulations of nagoonberry and poplar leaves. The haiku, which circles the rim, describes an experience one morning outside the cabin.
The contemporary dialogue focusing on the environment and the global impact of human habitation on its health and diversity involves serious debate on several key issues. Conservation versus preservation of wilderness, capitalism as a sustainable system of economics on a planet of limited natural resources, anthropocentrism as a world view, as opposed to biocentrism, and accusations of environmentalism as a new form of Western imperialism. It is no longer as simple as appreciating the beauty of a willow or the majesty of a caribou.
— Harlan W. Butt, 2011
