B. Wurtz

Do you flaunt decorative abstraction yet have content at heart?
Yes, and that’s a good way of putting it. I’m too much of a conceptual artist, or more accurately a philosophical artist, to start with the abstract elements when I make a work. The found objects give me the content right from the start. They represent my feeling that looking at the universe begins with really seeing the everyday things right in front of one’s nose. As I develop the pieces, I then give myself permission to have some fun with decoration and abstraction.


In the works with the hooks and locks, how did you come to using them and was the use of the hardware decided on early or late in the construction?
The hardware, along with the pieces of wood, was actually the premise for those pieces. Again, it is the content of the works. Since my work generally references food, clothing and/or shelter, that hardware and wood relates to "shelter".


How about your soft spot for pieces of plain or common wood - used but not terribly so? It must be difficult for you to walk around NYC without picking up things? Do you cut them down to size or use them in the size in which they are found?
You know, I think it comes from how much I loved the set of blocks I had as a child. That set, at its peak, was mainly made up of pieces of scrap wood. The wood in my sculptures is mainly acquired by my picking up pieces on the city streets, and I think that slight patina of age gives them personality. Much of it is actually the same size as I found it, although I do a lot of cutting, too. I think one of the reasons I like to use pieces in the size I find them is that it relates to the Surrealists’ or John Cage’s use of chance. Like the I Ching, it is an intriguing way to begin something.


Are your works constructed quickly-- in terms of minutes? Are some works labored on for months, gathering minute changes that make all the difference?
It is always exciting if something can come together in a matter of minutes, but that rarely happens for me. I usually spend days, weeks, months or even years working on pieces. The really simple-looking ones can take the longest because there have been so many breaks between the changes. Sometimes it takes a long time to come back to something with fresh eyes.


Are you free or hesitant about changes in pieces? What leads you to creating long-term variations and series?
I like the idea of making changes, even though it is sometimes difficult to realize that it is time to do so. It can be subtle--a matter of making something that is already pretty good into something better. One of my favorite things is when a piece has failed so badly that it is a choice of throwing it away or being free to try something radical. That can lead to the most interesting discoveries. Perhaps the variations and series relate to that urge most of us have to collect things. When I get one thing, then another and then another, then the group gets more interesting than just the one thing by itself.


What do you think about recycling?
I really believe in it. It saddens me that there is so much waste in our culture. I guess I’m very aware of everything I use and try to "tread lightly" on the earth. (I wish I could take my egg carton to the store and have them refill it with eggs.) I think my philosophy of living extends to the way I make art--the found objects certainly are a way of recycling. Doug Heubler made a statement about not wanting to add any more objects to the world, and I can relate to that. While I do make objects, in a way it would be more accurate to say that I rearrange objects that already exist.