Category: News

NCAC – CENSORED ON CAMPUS: PAUL RUCKER’S EXHIBITION ON RACE IN AMERICA

Paul Rucker‘s traveling exhibition REWIND is an urgently relevant multi-media installation that addresses the history of racial injustice in America. Works in the show include hand-sewn Ku Klux Klan robes made in colorful Kente cloth, images of lynchings, and slavery-era artifacts. The show opened at York College of Pennsylvania (Aug 31 – Oct 21, 2017) two weeks after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which erupted in acts of violence that left three people dead. On September 5th, less than a week after REWIND opened, the college announced its decision to close the exhibition to the general public. … Continue readingNCAC – CENSORED ON CAMPUS: PAUL RUCKER’S EXHIBITION ON RACE IN AMERICA

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The Stranger – York College Closes Paul Rucker’s Rewind Exhibition to the Public

According to Artnet news, “the show has been removed from the college website and there is an armed guard on duty in the galleries.” The article goes on to say that the exhibit has traveled to other cities, “including Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland” without any controversy. … Continue readingThe Stranger – York College Closes Paul Rucker’s Rewind Exhibition to the Public

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Non Profit Quarterly – A College Sparks a Dialogue about Fear of a Dialogue about Race

It’s curious why an educational institution would mount an exhibition that can only be seen by those with valid IDs and their guests. It seems they do not believe that the general public is capable of seeing the work and understanding the context in which it is presented. I’m not sure what information they have that leads them to believe their student body has more ability in handling the work than the general public. One also wonders what steps they have taken to provide the proper context for the work, if needed. It just doesn’t seem to make sense. … Continue readingNon Profit Quarterly – A College Sparks a Dialogue about Fear of a Dialogue about Race

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Inside Higher Ed – Art About Racism: Closed to the Public

Pamela Gunter-Smith, the president of York, said in an interview Monday that she learned about the race-focused exhibit only a week before it was to open — shortly after the violence that accompanied the August march of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. She said that the decision to go ahead with the exhibit, but close it to the general public, was for her “as a woman of color, a damned if you do, damned if you don’t” decision. … Continue readingInside Higher Ed – Art About Racism: Closed to the Public

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York Daily Record – York College bars public from ‘potentially disturbing’ racial injustice art exhibit

The exhibit opened at York College’s art gallery shortly after the neo-Nazi invasion of Charlottesville in August.

York College spokeswoman Mary Dolheimer explained on Monday that the REWIND exhibit was never intended to be open to the public. She added that the reason the media is barred from the exhibit is because coverage likely would result in members of the public also requesting to view the exhibit. … Continue readingYork Daily Record – York College bars public from ‘potentially disturbing’ racial injustice art exhibit

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YDR Editorial Board – College’s handling of art exhibit disappointing (editorial)

A “missed opportunity.”

Those were the words of artist Paul Rucker, talking about York College’s decision to bar the public from viewing his exhibit “REWIND” at the college’s gallery in Wolf Hall.

And it is. The exhibit contains powerful images that could offend some people or disturb others. That’s the point. The exhibit addresses racial injustice in the United States, from slavery to Jim Crow to Ferguson, Baltimore and elsewhere. … Continue readingYDR Editorial Board – College’s handling of art exhibit disappointing (editorial)

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PENN Live – Hate, social injustice take center stage in York College exhibit called ‘Rewind’

“I think the most important role of an artist is to make the unseen seen and at least more understood,” Rucker said during a phone call Thursday. “I think there is nothing more provocative than real life. Our American history is what I’m addressing. There are things that weren’t talked about in school and that is part of the show is facing the narrative and systems that were in place.” … Continue readingPENN Live – Hate, social injustice take center stage in York College exhibit called ‘Rewind’

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LoDown Magazine: PAUL RUCKER America Amplified

A musician-cum-conceptual artist, Paul Rucker’s been on a mission: originally hailing from South Carolina, his recent multi-media show “REWIND” (Baltimore Museum of Art) was the result of 20+ years of digging into American history and drawing connections between the nation’s dark historical underbelly and the status quo in US society. Essentially a show about history repeating itself over and over again, from KKK and lynchings to police brutality, from slave trading days to the insane, current prison system, Rucker’s work is – just like his current home Baltimore – indeed what he calls America Amplified. … Continue readingLoDown Magazine: PAUL RUCKER America Amplified

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The Root: Kente Cloth Klansmen and Paul Rucker’s Art That Provokes

Paul Rucker isn’t intentionally provocative. His art tells American stories. It just so happens that those stories are provocative, wretched and criminal. At the opening last week of his installation “Rewind” at the Baltimore Museum of Art, there are rows of tall and imposing mannequins donning Ku Klux Klan robes. One holds a baby wearing a tiny Klan robe. There are even robes made of kente cloth. It’s alternately jarring and fascinating. … Continue readingThe Root: Kente Cloth Klansmen and Paul Rucker’s Art That Provokes

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