Butoh Form No.1 Sculpture

Carved in 2017, this piece is the first of the "Butoh Forms". Butoh is a Japanese dance form where the body is often contorted in interesting ways. This dance is an inspiration for this piece. It is carved from one piece of old growth yellow cedar. The wood is air dried and tight grained. Because it is untreated, you can smell the wonderful aroma coming out of it. I knife and gouged finished this piece to give it a slightly "rocky" texture. The cuts are well planned and require understanding the grain direction of the particular cut. The smooth areas are done with a knife taking careful finishing cuts to remove the fine fibers from the valleys where the opposing grains meet. I used different finishing cuts for different areas of the piece depending on the particular feeling I wanted to give it. The different parts of the piece interact together in subtle ways and I enhanced these relationships by the way I carved it. The form seems to have an internal structure pushing out under a skin. I think these bulges give tension and a feeling of movement to the piece thus contributing to its dynamics. It is a tripodal piece and possesses an asymmetrical balance. I hope it leaves you with a haunting yet calming feeling - echoing deep questions about the nature of existence.