Skip to main content

Appalachian Today

News and events at Appalachian State University
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research and Creative Works
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • Contact

Find Your Art: Ben Butler

Posted June 11, 2015 at 5:41 p.m.

Ben Butler is interested in the natural world. "I look at the natural sciences as one example of how we interact with our world and understand it," he says. "And really at the root, my work is about understanding the world."

Drawing from diverse influences—musical composition, Chinese scholars’ rocks, and emergence theory, Butler generates forms that evoke simultaneously human design and natural growth. Butler’s new installation, Elegy to the Disappearance of Objects, is an exploration of these themes on a colossal scale. A grand and enigmatic form hovers above the viewer, suspended by an intricate and seemingly fragile wooden framework. It is segmented and richly textured, rhythmic yet amorphous. A strong sense of time and process pervades the artwork, as the structure seems to be at once both emerging and dissolving.

Butler's Elegy to the Disappearance of Objects exhibited at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, March 6 - June 6, 2015.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

Transcript

Ben Butler: Well, I have a lot of interest in the natural world - natural sciences and our relationship to the natural world. I look at the natural sciences as one example of how we interact with our world and understand it. And really at the root, my work is about understanding the world.

BB: I tend to see the world as a series of processes, not as static objects, but as things coming into being, dissolving, deteriorating, growing, shifting. And so in my work I want to embody that sense of time.

BB: I don't begin with an image or a design. In some ways I'm anti-design. I'm interested in working in the studio in a way that is free of preconceptions or plans. And in that way the work often feels more organic and, in the studio, seems like it's growing.

BB: Really, my work is about accumulation and how very complex and unpredictable things can be generated through the accumulation of simple parts.

BB: My name is Ben Butler. This is my art. Go find yours.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities

Other Recent Posts

  • Appalachian Energy Summit exceeds 2025 goal with $2.37 billion in statewide avoided energy costs
    Appalachian Energy Summit exceeds 2025 goal with $2.37 billion in statewide avoided energy costs
  • Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren appointed vice chancellor of research and innovation at App State
    Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren appointed vice chancellor of research and innovation at App State
  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted July 2
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted July 2
  • App State researchers uncover hidden history at Fort Defiance
    App State researchers uncover hidden history at Fort Defiance
  • ‘Dragon prince’ dinosaur may be missing link in T. rex evolution [alumni featured]
    ‘Dragon prince’ dinosaur may be missing link in T. rex evolution [alumni featured]
    Science Magazine
  • Is Carb Cycling the Key to Increasing Your Endurance? [faculty featured]
    Is Carb Cycling the Key to Increasing Your Endurance? [faculty featured]
    GQ
  • App State awarded $367,088 National Science Foundation grant for telescope upgrades at Dark Sky Observatory
    App State awarded $367,088 National Science Foundation grant for telescope upgrades at Dark Sky Observatory
  • App State nutrition students empower Watauga’s young athletes to use food as fuel for athletic performance
    App State nutrition students empower Watauga’s young athletes to use food as fuel for athletic performance
  • App State’s New River Light and Power awards scholarships to 7 Watauga County students
    App State’s New River Light and Power awards scholarships to 7 Watauga County students
  • App State researcher develops AI-driven microscope to detect poultry parasites [faculty featured]
    App State researcher develops AI-driven microscope to detect poultry parasites [faculty featured]
    WFDD
  • 20 App State ROTC cadets commissioned to serve as Army second lieutenants
    20 App State ROTC cadets commissioned to serve as Army second lieutenants
  • App State awarded $2.3M to advance innovation in NC agriculture
    App State awarded $2.3M to advance innovation in NC agriculture

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the News
  • Research & Arts
  • Awards
  • Experts
  • All News
  • Topics
  • Subscribe
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

App State

Copyright 2025 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
[email protected]

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Accessibility | Website manager: montaldipa (beltmr) .. | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat