Brantner Deatley

A few years ago I thought it would be funny to make a bear holding a cabin as a nod to the donor portraits or Saints holding cathedrals from medieval European art. 

  I made one here and there but never really gave them much focus. When Dean offered me the opportunity for this show he mentioned the bears with cabins which opened the door to really explore the idea. 

Making animals immediately leads you into our environment and all of the stress we put on nature with the choices we make in our lives and even more pressing the choices that are being made for us without our consent. 

  We have a lot of bears here in Massachusetts, and I keep hearing not  enough housing? I guess that means too many people. A few years back we had a bear move in under a fallen tree, she stayed for 3 months and had two cubs. Humans and nature! Sometimes we just end up on top of each other. We respected her space and she was a good neighbor. 

  Frogs! I wish a saw more of them. I’ve only seen handful this summer. 

I had a large Northern Leopard frog in my yard last week. We both jumped to avoid each other and I ended up on top of it. Even humans with the best of intentions are a menace to our wild neighbors. 

 

Brantner has shown at The Geoffrey Young Gallery, LABspace, Ober Gallery, Exit Art, The Oresman Gallery at Smith College, The Ely Center for the Arts,TurnPark Art Space and Carroll and Sons. His work is in the collection of the Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA. As well as many private collections across the country. This is his third show with Pulp.

A graduate of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University he now lives in Western Massachusetts with three donkeys, two dogs, two cats  a pony and his wife, Shoshana who owns and operates Red Horse Press Etching Studio (www.redhorsepress.com), providing space for printmakers and education for those who may want to be.

 

Haikus composed while walking in the woods with the dogs

 

Gesture all around

Conifer and oak reaching

Towards the blue and brown

 

A frog is the same

As a mountain and a bird

This tree is my home

 

Golden hue flows down

From the canopy above

feel the light lift you

 

Soft Envelopment

A blank canvas is revealed

The quiet greets you

 

The landscape has changed

Since the snow muted the ground

We move with the path

 

The shimmering trail

Through fallen trees and mud

Alone with the sun

 

After the rain left

It’s wetness remains in pools

We walk around them

 

A grey veil softens

The dewy emerald morning

Sounds of you pecking

 

Sliding down the hill

the rocks and pebbles

Shifting under every step

 

Explosion of green

Walking on the soggy path

A new world begins

 

Forget where you are

Dripping trail leads us forward

We have found our way

 

Branches block the path

As the ground drys in the wind

Find a way around

 

 As the day heats up

The deer flies orbit my head

This path is to long

 

Humidity weighs

A breeze shakes the leaves

The rain they hold falls

 

This walk seems longer

Enveloped by sticky air

We can’t stop panting

 

Move into the breeze

Letting the air surround you

Easier to breathe

 

When I stop to pee

Mosquitoes swarm around

need to keep going

 

Orange efts on the trail

The dog stepped on top of one

I think he’s ok

 

Deer fly in my hat

They won’t stop bothering me

I’ll just ignore them

 

A cool bed of green

Awakens in the grey light

Moist air fills my lungs

 

Spending time with trees

The owls are revealed

They watch from above

 

Getting into stride

Once we know the direction

Panting fills my ears

 

Three toads on the path

Where not one was seen before

Where are they going?

 

Bright Spring morning air

Woodblock woodpecker

Echoes through the marsh

 Thanks to Maryanne Benz and Anna Hepler for firing the clay and good conversations.