Acclaimed artist Paul Rucker to present interactive musical performance at K-State
Friday, April 28, 2023
K-State will host Paul Rucker, a nationally recognized visual and performance artist, composer and cellist, on May 5 for an interactive performance featuring improvisational music and dialogue. Admission is free and open to the public. | Download this photo.
MANHATTAN — Paul Rucker, a nationally recognized visual and performance artist, composer and cellist, will premiere a new performance featuring improvisational music and dialogue on May 5 at Kansas State University's Mark A. Chapman Theatre.
Rucker's interactive performance, "Hold: A Feeling or a Story," will occur at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, in the Chapman Theatre, 133 Nichols Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. The event is organized by the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art and additional K-State partners as part of the Beach Museum of Art's program series, Art in Motion.
Through the many branches of his art practice, Rucker examines the history of slavery in the United States and explores its impact on contemporary American culture and society. For K-State, Rucker is creating a new work featuring improvisational music and dialogue.
Rucker and local artists, led by Beach Museum of Art Specialist Nate McClendon, will interact with the audience to create music and perform spontaneously, breaking the traditional barrier separating performers and spectators. The work captures the moods and sentiments of our community. Rucker seeks to create a holding space for individuals to express and experience personal and social realities. This performance showcases contemporary experimental music and performance art.
The improvisational interaction with the audience will include Rucker on cello; McClendon on saxophone, Paul Hunt on trombone, Agnieszka Lasko on piano, Michael T. Brown on bass and Kurt Gartner on percussion.
View prints from Rucker's "FOREVER" series in the "Do You See What I See?" exhibition at the Beach Museum of Art. For more information about Rucker, visit his website.
This event is part of the Beach Museum of Art's annual program series, Art in Motion: a tribute to Marianna's love for lifelong learning! Marianna Kistler Beach believed in the value of art and the importance of cross-cultural understanding. The museum offers the Art in Motion programs in celebration of her work and leadership.
K-State partners supporting this event include the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance; the art department; and the Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies.
Museum donors and Manhattan community members who have provided crucial funding include Dan and Beth Bird, Ray and Maxine Coffey, Terry and Tara Cupps, Linda Duke, Michael and Becky Goss, Don Lambert and Ray Hill, David and Melinda Weaver, and the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation's Lincoln and Dorothy I. Deihl Community Grants Program.
