Dwayne Butcher: Artist Statement

My little green Yoda doll
Has blue paint all over him
And not just any blue paint
But light blue
My favorite color is light blue
I also like dark blue
And rust
I like rust a lot
A rust colored Chevy Malibu
Should be a country song
Sung by Willie Nelson
On am 790
There is this slogan
I was country
Before country was cool
That would make for a
Great Bumper Sticker
As long as it was printed
Red on white

I have never really liked the color red
I do like red wine
But red wine has sulphates
Since
I do not know
What sulphates are
I think
I will be okay
As long as I can keep making
Contemporary post and lintel communities
With the personality of a redneck-hillbilly
Is that a good thing to say
About someone else’s work
People say it about mine
They also say
It is eye-popping minimalism
Maybe that is why
I recently had to get glasses

Do your eyes pop out
When you see my work
Do you think of Star Wars
When you see it
What about Superman
What about comic books
Would you be surprised to know
That it has nothing to do with
Any of those things
And people tell me all kinds of things
What the work reminds them of
And how they
Could make the work better

People say
Dwayne
You need to use a French cleat
To get the work
That has nothing to do with Superman
Good and snug to the wall
But
I am not yet a smart artist
So I had to look up
Exactly what a French cleat is
I can’t wait for my smart people paper

I can’t wait until I can sing
Johnny cash songs
Just like Tom Waits
Johnny cash
Tom Waits
Donald Judd
Knee high socks
This is really what the work is about
And it is all I think about
That
And the color blue

A light blue
I love light blue
So much so
That if I were to write
A top ten list
Of the greatest things ever
Light blue would be number one
Followed by art
But not just any art
My art
And not just any of my art
But a painting
A painting I have yet to even paint
A painting that I will paint in 30 years
When I am 61
And hopefully
Finally
I will be an art star