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Talking Art & Music
Illustration Artist W. Steve
Rucker Creates Imaginative, Playful and Humorous Work
Story by Debra Kronowitz
Inspired by the Southern landscape, the
work of visionary “outsiders,” agriculture, social and
environmental ironies, New Orleans artist W. Steve Rucker
specializes increating imaginative installations. Although
schooled primarily in ceramics, Rucker refers to himself as an
installation artist. Most of his heroes were and remain
painters, sculptors and writers.
With a strong connection to the crafts tradition, particularly
ceramics, Rucker’s sculptures, paintings and installations have
become less formal and more narrative. Audio tapes and
self-penned and produced songs have become an integral part of
his art over the years. His work tends to be regionally specific
as is his music. “What results is an ongoing look at ceramics in
conjunction with various materials, usually addressing the
ephemeral, that points a finger at the givings and misgivings in
this land of plenty,” Rucker said.
As a child, Rucker was always “fiddling” with drawing. A
third-grade teacher recognized his talent and became his mentor,
letting him paint with her old oil paints. Always on the edge of
marketability, Rucker’s installations and drawings connect to
his life experiences, yet appear to be sporadic expressions that
expand on an idea of getting art on the floor. His work is
socially and politically inspired.
“Garden
Party, for example, is ceramic on
steel. It filled the floor with water spiders and represented
the death of the American farmer. It was also a private tribute
to the passing of my father,” Rucker explained. “Hot
House was created at a time when
local and national politics and our environment were headed
south, and I don’t mean in the South of the country. Ten years
later, people are still talking about it . . . maybe ‘time’
finishes the tale.”
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Originally from southeast Tennessee, Rucker has been
drawn to and overwhelmed by the Mississippi River. “It is
powerful, filthy, rich with history and full of industrial
choreography. Not quite what I had envisioned via Huckleberry
Finn. Yet it demands a kind of respect; I still walk along,
gather and work near it today,” he said.
In addition to ceramics and mixed media, Rucker incorporates the
use of mirrors and music in his work. He does so to bring the
viewer into the work and uses the light to envelope the artwork.
“My work heavily relies on gesture, rhythm and at times, a theme
with variations,” he explained. In the beginning, his
installations used audio and sound effects. In the early 1990s,
he broke away from pre-recorded audio to live performances
during his exhibits. “Amazing contemporary artists were using
audio in the 1970s. I moved from sound effects to personally
written songs that I performed,” he said. |
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| Photos
courtesy of Arthur Roger Gallery |
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Another deliberate
in his work is displacing the viewer. “They are forced to step back or
walk around as opposed to standing in the middle of a piece of artwork
that may be traditionally hung on a wall,” he explained.
“Steve thinks in grandiose ideas. He is not a conventional artist. He
has some of the most imaginative and ambitious work we’ve shown; yet, it
is also playful and has a strong sense of humor. His work has a way of
entertaining you and making you think,” said Arthur Roger, owner of
Arthur Roger Gallery.
New Orleans continues to stimulate and haunt Rucker. “The river, the
music, the Caribbean culture and the Bohemian lifestyle stimulate me;
the remnants of Katrina
and the crime haunt me,” he said. Having to stay
on guard and alert has simultaneously heightened his sensitivity to
social, political and basic urban survival skills and “ills.”
Presently, Rucker is working on two installations slated to be in the
Arthur Roger Gallery in 2009. Storm Song
Variations will be a floor installation
made of ceramic and steel rods. “It’s being birthed, crowned,” Rucker
said. “I love the challenge and the fear of creating these large
multi-year installations. In my mind, I am always wondering if this will
be visually impactful for me and the viewing public. I begin these
journeys with my pants down, so to speak – sketches appear and I decide
if they are worthy to invest the time and sweat equity.
The artwork will be a spiraling vortex, free standing and elevated. It
will be made of 50 ceramic slabs – no two alike – that will each receive
three sockets. The face of the slab is an abstract expressionist
painting. “It is a spiraling freeze-frame of the chaos of
Katrina and its
aftermath, yet it will be highly colorful, romantic and playful. Art
doesn’t always need to look pretty and make you feel good,” Rucker said.
The second installation, Holding My Own,
is a self-portrait made up of a body of tightly rendered pencil drawings
that will be framed and hung traditionally. In each drawing Rucker is
holding something personally significant.
Rucker has taught ceramics at Loyola University since 1981 and is
currently an associate professor. He received his master of fine arts
degree from LSU in 1979. Rucker has had several solo exhibitions in New
Orleans, including major installations at the Arthur Roger Gallery, and
has participated in group exhibitions in Boston, Sarasota, Knoxville and
Baton Rouge, LA. He is presently recording his third CD of original
music, which will be independently released later this year.
“I’ve been the luckiest hillbilly to have moved further south. I owe my
entire life and career to this town,” Rucker said.
Arthur Roger Gallery,
432 Julia St.,
504.522.1999,
www.arthurrogergallery.com |
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