ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paul Rucker - Visual artist, cellist
Paul Rucker creates art that explores issues related to mass incarceration, racially-motivated violence, police brutality and the continuing impact of slavery in the US.

Why you should listen

Paul Rucker is a visual artist, composer, and musician who often combines media, integrating live performance, sound, original compositions and visual art. His work is the product of a rich interactive process, through which he investigates community impacts, human rights issues, historical research and basic human emotions surrounding particular subject matter. Much of his current work focuses on the Prison Industrial Complex and the many issues accompanying incarceration in its relationship to slavery. He has presented performances and visual art exhibitions across the country and has collaborated with educational institutions to address the issue of mass incarceration. Presentations have taken place in schools, active prisons and also inactive prisons such as Alcatraz.

His largest installation to date, REWIND, garnered praise from Baltimore Magazine awarding Rucker "Best Artist 2015." Additionally, REWIND received "Best Solo Show 2015" and "#1 Art Show of 2015" from Baltimore City Paper, reviews by The Huffington Post, Artnet News, Washington Post, The Root and The Real News Network. Rucker has received numerous grants, awards and residencies for visual art and music. He is a 2012 Creative Capital Grantee in visual art as well as a 2014 and 2018 MAP (Multi-Arts Production) Fund Grantee for performance. In 2015 he received a prestigious Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant as well as the Mary Sawyer Baker Award. In 2016 Paul received the Rauschenberg Artist as Activist fellowship and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, for which he is the first artist in residence at the new National Museum of African American Culture.

Residencies include MacDowell Colony, Blue Mountain Center, Ucross Foundation, Art OMI, Banff Centre, Pilchuck Glass School, Rauschenberg Residency, Joan Mitchell Residency, Hemera Artist Retreat, Air Serembe, Creative Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation Study Center in Bellagio, Italy.  In 2013-2015, he was the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Artist in Residence and Research Fellow at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was most recently awarded a 2017 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2018 TED Fellowship and the 2018 Arts Innovator Award from the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation and Artist Trust. Rucker is an iCubed Visiting Arts Fellow embedded at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Rucker's latest work, Storm in the Time of Shelter, an installation of 52 custom Ku Klux Klan robes and related artifacts, is featured in the exhibition "Declaration," on view at the new Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia through September 9, 2018.

More profile about the speaker
Paul Rucker | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Paul Rucker: How my mom inspired my approach to the cello

Paul Rucker: Cum mi-a inspirat mama modul în care abordez violoncelului

Filmed:
387,890 views

Artistul multidisciplinar și partenerul TED Paul Rucker și-a dezvoltat propriul stil de a cânta la violoncel; pune bețișoare printre corzile sale, folosește instrumentul ca o tobă și experimentează cu electronice precum pedalele pentru sunete repetate. Trecând de la narațiunea reflexivă la prestația muzicală, Rucker își împărtășește inspirația... și cu siguranță nu cântă aceleași piese vechi de Bach.
- Visual artist, cellist
Paul Rucker creates art that explores issues related to mass incarceration, racially-motivated violence, police brutality and the continuing impact of slavery in the US. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
(CelloVioloncel musicmuzică)
0
1568
3033
(Muzică de violoncel)
01:03
(MusicMuzica endscapete)
1
51012
4880
(Muzica se termină)
01:09
On the flightzbor here,
2
57373
2378
În timpul zborului până aici,
01:13
I was remindeda amintit about my mommama.
3
61071
1722
mi-am adus aminte de mama mea.
Sunt un violoncelist autodidact,
n-am luat niciodată o lecție.
01:15
I'm a self-taughtauto-didact cellistvioloncelistul,
I've never had a lessonlecţie.
4
63437
2632
01:18
I studiedstudiat doubledubla bassbas, but I just
pickedales up the cellovioloncel and starteda început playingjoc
5
66093
3576
Am studiat contrabasul,
dar am luat violoncelul
și am început să cânt
pentru că asta iubesc.
01:21
because I love doing it.
6
69693
1190
01:22
But my mommama was an inspirationinspirație to me.
7
70907
1786
Dar mama a fost o inspirație pentru mine.
01:24
I did not realizerealiza she was an inspirationinspirație,
8
72717
2064
Nu am realizat că a fost o inspirație,
01:26
because she got her musicmuzică degreegrad
throughprin a mail-orderpoștă-ordine coursecurs,
9
74805
4129
pentru că și-a luat diploma de muzică
printr-un curs la distanță
01:30
the US SchoolScoala of MusicMuzica.
10
78958
1468
la US School of Music.
01:32
While raisingridicare two kidscopii,
11
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1571
În timp ce creștea doi copii,
01:34
she receivedprimit a lessonlecţie a weeksăptămână in the mailPoștă,
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3103
primea o lecție pe săptămână prin poștă
01:37
and practicedpracticat.
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1151
și exersa.
01:39
And at the endSfârşit of a couplecuplu of yearsani,
she put on a recitalConsiderentul.
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Și după câțiva ani, a oferit un recital.
01:42
And I'll be 50 this monthlună,
and it tooka luat me that long to realizerealiza
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4023
Și o să fac 50 de ani luna asta
și mi-a luat atât de mult timp să realizez
01:46
that she was that bigmare of an inspirationinspirație.
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94799
1920
că mama a fost o inspirație atât de mare.
01:49
I'm just going to keep --
yeah, thanksMulțumiri, mommama.
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O să continui... da, mulțumesc, mamă.
01:52
(ApplauseAplauze)
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100060
6188
(Aplauze)
01:58
She's alsode asemenea one of the mostcel mai
extraordinaryextraordinar people I know,
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Ea este și una dintre cele mai speciale
persoane pe care le știu,
02:01
beyonddincolo beingfiind a wonderfulminunat musicianmuzician.
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2268
dincolo de a fi un muzician minunat.
02:03
I want to playa juca a little bitpic for mommama
and your momsmame as well, actuallyde fapt.
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3309
Vreau să cânt un pic pentru mama
și, de fapt, și pentru mamele voastre.
02:07
(CelloVioloncel musicmuzică)
22
115968
2752
(Muzică de violoncel)
02:22
(MusicMuzica endscapete)
23
130066
2076
(Muzica se termină)
02:24
You know, when you normallyîn mod normal
hearauzi a cellovioloncel, you think of this.
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De obicei când auziți un violoncel,
vă gândiți la asta.
02:27
(PlaysJoacă BachBach CelloVioloncel SuiteSuită No.1)
25
135221
2524
(Cântă Suita pentru violoncel
Nr. 1 de Bach)
Nu o să facem asta azi.
02:29
We're not going to do that todayastăzi.
26
137770
2201
(Râsete și aplauze)
02:31
(LaughterRâs and applauseaplauze)
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3083
02:35
(DrumsTobe)
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2976
(Tobe)
(Violoncel)
02:41
(CelloVioloncel)
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149684
2000
Hey!
02:46
Hey!
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1150
02:48
(LoopedCurbat sampleseșantioane of onstagepe scena soundssunete)
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2400
(Secvențe repetate de sunete live)
(Muzică de violoncel și secvențe repetate)
03:05
(CelloVioloncel musicmuzică and loopedcurbat sampleseșantioane)
32
173282
1975
(Muzica se termină)
03:54
(MusicMuzica endscapete)
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222911
2000
03:57
(ApplauseAplauze and cheersNoroc)
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6961
(Aplauze și urale)
Translated by Robert Glavan
Reviewed by Mirel-Gabriel Alexa

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Paul Rucker - Visual artist, cellist
Paul Rucker creates art that explores issues related to mass incarceration, racially-motivated violence, police brutality and the continuing impact of slavery in the US.

Why you should listen

Paul Rucker is a visual artist, composer, and musician who often combines media, integrating live performance, sound, original compositions and visual art. His work is the product of a rich interactive process, through which he investigates community impacts, human rights issues, historical research and basic human emotions surrounding particular subject matter. Much of his current work focuses on the Prison Industrial Complex and the many issues accompanying incarceration in its relationship to slavery. He has presented performances and visual art exhibitions across the country and has collaborated with educational institutions to address the issue of mass incarceration. Presentations have taken place in schools, active prisons and also inactive prisons such as Alcatraz.

His largest installation to date, REWIND, garnered praise from Baltimore Magazine awarding Rucker "Best Artist 2015." Additionally, REWIND received "Best Solo Show 2015" and "#1 Art Show of 2015" from Baltimore City Paper, reviews by The Huffington Post, Artnet News, Washington Post, The Root and The Real News Network. Rucker has received numerous grants, awards and residencies for visual art and music. He is a 2012 Creative Capital Grantee in visual art as well as a 2014 and 2018 MAP (Multi-Arts Production) Fund Grantee for performance. In 2015 he received a prestigious Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant as well as the Mary Sawyer Baker Award. In 2016 Paul received the Rauschenberg Artist as Activist fellowship and the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, for which he is the first artist in residence at the new National Museum of African American Culture.

Residencies include MacDowell Colony, Blue Mountain Center, Ucross Foundation, Art OMI, Banff Centre, Pilchuck Glass School, Rauschenberg Residency, Joan Mitchell Residency, Hemera Artist Retreat, Air Serembe, Creative Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation Study Center in Bellagio, Italy.  In 2013-2015, he was the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Artist in Residence and Research Fellow at the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was most recently awarded a 2017 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2018 TED Fellowship and the 2018 Arts Innovator Award from the Dale and Leslie Chihuly Foundation and Artist Trust. Rucker is an iCubed Visiting Arts Fellow embedded at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Rucker's latest work, Storm in the Time of Shelter, an installation of 52 custom Ku Klux Klan robes and related artifacts, is featured in the exhibition "Declaration," on view at the new Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia through September 9, 2018.

More profile about the speaker
Paul Rucker | Speaker | TED.com