Bronna Butler
My early interest in both the Arts and Science/Math resulted in two rotating careers, one in art and another in finance/science. My current artwork - multifaceted glass, mirror and metal sculptural portraits of mathematicians, physicists, recreational mathematics and science in general - unites my two passions. Stylistically, my glass and oil painting techniques are derived from the Baroque and Renaissance periods. During these two periods of art, artists were involved in the “science” of the arts including the chemistry of their paints/materials, precise anatomy and perspective, architectural principles and scientifically-based observations. The content and purpose of art, during these periods, frequently included science and mathematics.
My "Gardner Rabbit” drawing is a study for the painted glass in my sculptural portrait of Martin Gardner. The image is an homage to Gardner, Lewis Carroll and John Tenniel, the first illustrator of the “Alice” books. I replicated the body of one of Tenniel’s white-rabbit-illustrations and replaced the rabbit’s head with my portrait of Gardner topped with rabbit ears. I added a chessboard floor and surrounded prolific-author Gardner with books. The drawing includes an enciphered word in red letters. The alphabet cipher that I used to encode the word was created by Carroll in 1868. The information needed to decipher the word is available on the books piled around Gardner Rabbit’s feet. The final sculpture contains more codes and puzzles.