Sharon L. Butler
Tower Series, 2007, oil on canvasboard, each 18" x 24."

This recent series of thirty-four spare abstractions is based on images of isolated observation towers.

"Solitary towers have been features of the landscape since the 1800s, when wealthy German aristocrats began building them on their property. By the mid-19th century ordinary citizens were constructing towers for tourism. During World War II, the Army erected concrete observation towers in Delaware for spotting German U-Boats. With the invention of the elevator, tower heights increased. Today, the Toronto’s CN Tower is the world’s tallest, at 1,815 feet.

"My penchant is for smaller, unadvertised, local observation towers used to spot fires, watch nature, protect territory, and perhaps provide modest entertainment for visitors. These towers, made of wood or welded metal lattice, usually have a platform surrounded by a railing or partial enclosure. To get a new perspective on the world, we make the exhausting scramble to the top up noisy metal stairs, ladders, or rickety spiral staircases. By the time we get to the platform, we’re panting, out of breath. We look out over the land and listen to the wind as our pulses slow.

"Positioned above the tree line, the towers are distinctive features of the regional landscape, and can be seen from almost everywhere in the community. From a distance, however, we ourselves are indistinct as we stare from the platform, nearly invisible to everyone down below. If they can see us at all, they certainly can’t tell who we are. By climbing the tower and distancing ourselves from the throb of life below, paradoxically we feel as though we might be able to get a closer look. To some of us, that’s a keener vantage point than the heart of things."

—S. L. Butler / September 2007 / The Blogger Show

Biography: Butler, a faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts at Eastern Connecticut State University, earned a BA in art history from Tufts University, a BFA in painting from Massachusetts College of Art, and an MFA in art from the University of Connecticut. She has received several grants and awards, including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, Connecticut Artist fellowship, Blue Mountain Center Artists' fellowship, Vermont Studio Center residency grant, a Red Cinder Creativity Center residency, and two Connecticut State University research grants. Her work is included in private collections in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Baltimore, Tampa, Philadelphia, Providence, London and Kyoto. She is a Contributing Writer at The Brooklyn Rail.

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