Butterfly You Make Me Cry 

Editor: This assemblage is titled *Butterfly You Make Me Cry* by Kerry O. Furlani and features carved wood in a relief composition. It strikes me as an interplay between the natural texture of wood and more rigid, geometric forms. What are your initial observations of the piece? Curator: I'm immediately drawn to the stratification. The work is fundamentally divided into two registers through distinct textural and chromatic means. The upper portion employs the natural grain of the wood to direct the eye vertically, and this is emphasized by a grey wash, establishing visual rhythm, against the lower part that consists of repeated carved patterns. It creates a visually stimulating contrast. Editor: The carved patterns look almost like text or some form of inscription. Could that be significant? Curator: Potentially. If we apply a structuralist lens, these could be seen as signifiers awaiting decoding. However, formalism steers away from attributing fixed meanings. The visual impact lies primarily in the repetition and its contrast with the relative chaos above. Observe the varying depths and irregular spacing of the carved lines; the texture, which seems random, might suggest emotional intensity, as the artwork title suggests. Editor: So, you see the 'crying' more in the roughness of the carved text, less in the 'butterfly' portion at the top? Curator: Precisely. The upper portion offers a stoic, perhaps weathered presence. The affect is cool, while the reddish portion vibrates, creating discord and tension between two elements. Notice, however, how both textural elements converge. Editor: That’s a helpful way of thinking about the relation of those components! I learned a lot. Curator: And I, by considering another approach, thank you!