Ken Butler
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Butler (born August 3, 1948) is an artist and musician, as well as an experimental musical instrument builder. His Hybrid musical instruments and other artworks explore the interaction and transformation of common and uncommon objects, altered images, sounds and silence. The idea of bricolage, essentially using whatever is “at hand”, is at the center of his art, encompassing a wide range of practice that combines live music, instrument design
, performance art
, theater, sculpture
, installation
, photography
, film
/video
, graphic design
, drawing
, and collage
.
He is internationally recognized as an innovator of experimental musical instruments created from diverse materials including tools, sports equipment, and household objects.
His works have been exhibited and performed in galleries, clubs, museums, festivals, and theatres throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe including The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam
and Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City
as well as in South America and Japan.
as a child and maintained a strong interest in music while studying the visual arts at Colorado College
and in France at The Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence
, completing his MFA
in painting from Portland State University
in 1977. He moved to New York City in 1988 from Portland
, Oregon
.
, Laurie Anderson
, Butch Morris
, The Soldier String Quartet
. Butler has released an album on John Zorn
's label Tzadik Records
, performed in many places among which the Knitting Factory
.
, The Village Voice
, Artforum
, Smithsonian, and Sculpture Magazine
and have been featured on PBS
, CNN
, MTV
, and NBC
, including a live appearance on The Tonight Show
.
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
, performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, theater, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, installation
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
/video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
, graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
.
He is internationally recognized as an innovator of experimental musical instruments created from diverse materials including tools, sports equipment, and household objects.
His works have been exhibited and performed in galleries, clubs, museums, festivals, and theatres throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe including The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as well as in South America and Japan.
Early life
Butler studied violaViola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
as a child and maintained a strong interest in music while studying the visual arts at Colorado College
Colorado College
The Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell...
and in France at The Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, completing his MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in painting from Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
in 1977. He moved to New York City in 1988 from Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Collaborations
In the past and currently Butler has worked with artists like John ZornJohn Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
, Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...
, Butch Morris
Butch Morris
Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris is an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor.-Biography:Before his musical career, Morris served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War....
, The Soldier String Quartet
Dave Soldier
Dave Soldier is an American composer and performer residing in New York.- Musical works :Some of his work is based on unusual collaborations. In the Thai Elephant Orchestra he built giant musical instruments on which he trained a group of elephants to improvise...
. Butler has released an album on John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
's label Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records
Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
, performed in many places among which the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
.
Media Appearances
His works have been reviewed in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, Smithsonian, and Sculpture Magazine
Sculpture (magazine)
Sculpture ia a magazine published by the International Sculpture Center , a nonprofit organization founded in 1960 to promote interest and understanding of the art form. The organization is located at the old New Jersey Fairgrounds in Hamilton, New Jersey...
and have been featured on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, including a live appearance on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
.
Discography
- Ken Butler, Voices of Anxious Objects, (CD with 16-page color booklet.) Tzadik Records, TZ 7402, 1997.
- Live at Zebulon 2005, CD, Hybrid Visions Music, 2006
- KB’s Greatest Hits 1993-1996, CD, Hybrid Visions Music, 2005
- Live at Kerrytown Concert Hall, (trio w. vocals) CD, Hybrid Visions Music, 2005
- This is It: Live at Zebulon Volume 1, includes “Par Twelve”, CD, Zebulon, 2005
- Out of Nowhere, Judith Ren-Lay, CD, Knitting Factory Records, 2003.
- Improsculpt, Collaboration with Oeyvind Brandtsegg , http://teks.no/oeyvind, 2002
- Gravikords, Whirlies & Pyrophones: Experimental Musical Instruments, CD, with 96-page booklet and CD, Ellipsis Arts, CD 3530, 1996.
- An Artist in The Civilized World, Ric Soshin, CD, Phantom Records 4321, 1996.
- Testament: Conduction #23, Lawrence D. Butch Morris, CD, New World Records, 80482-2, 1995.
- AS IS, Loretta Roome, Eric Feinstein, (guitar tracks), for self-produced cassette, Brooklyn, NY, 1994.
- Experimental Musical Instruments, Nicasio, Ca., From the Pages, cassette Volume III , 1988, and Volume VIII, 1993.
- Improvisations, Ken Butler and Dina Emerson, Gargoyle Mechanique, New York, sampler cassette, 1990.
Film & Video Production
- Hybrid Visions, (2-hr. DVD of excerpts 1993-2006), Hybrid Visions Music, 2006
- “Hand Song”, 16 mm animated film selected for Ann Arbor Film Festival, 1974.
- “Hybrid Antics”, video produced at Rogers Cablesystems, Portland, Ore, 1984.
- Art Directed Gus Van Sant’s first film “Mala Noche”, Portland, 1986.
Career Highlights
- 2008 Pollock/Krasner Foundation Grant,The Dayton Art Institute Ohio, Compiegne Library, France
- 2007 Art Gym at Marylhurst Univ, Hallie Ford Museum, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, artMoving Projects
- 2006 Mass MoCA, Sideshow Gallery, The Lab, Light in Winter Festival
- 2005 Lancaster Museum Pa, The Avampato Museum NC, Dowd Fine Arts Center, NY
- 2004 De Paul Univ. Chicago, Michigan Theatre, 2B Gallery Budapest, Kerrytown Concert Hall MI
- 2003 Collective Unconscious, The Knitting Factory, NYC
- 2002 The Aldrich Museum, CT.,F. Donald Kenney Museum NY, (color catalog),
- 2001 The Klanghaus Hamburg, Rose Art Museum Brandeis, Paris, Radio Bremen.
- 2000 Exit Art, Florence Lynch Gallery, The Boston Museum, BAM Cafe, The Kitchen
- 1999 NYFA Fellowship, The Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian Magazine, The Tonight Show .
- 1998 Wintergarden Theater, Citicorp Atrium, Met Life Windows NYC.
- 1997 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, Oakland Museum, Knitting Factory, CD on Tzadik.
- 1996 The Kitchen, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Soho Festival NYC, Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
- 1995 Lincoln Center, Thread Waxing Space, Experimental Intermedia, NYC, Maryland Institute of the Arts.
- 1994 Printemps de Bourges and Art Rock St. Brieuc Festivals, France, Podewil Berlin, Cave 12 Geneva, Whitney Museum NYC.
- 1993 NY Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Exit Art, Thread Waxing Space, Performing Garage, The Drawing Center, Roulette, NYC, Images du Futur, Montreal.
- 1992 Test-Site Gallery, Generator, NYC., Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Gallery Nishiasabu,Tokyo.
- 1991 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Great Hall at Cooper Union, NYC, Music-Action Festival, France, ICPNA, LIma, Peru, Jamison Thomas Gallery, Portland.
- 1990 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, New Music America Montreal, Roulette NYC.
- 1989 NEA InterArts grant, The Apollohouse Eindhoven Holland, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Painted Bride Philadelphia.
- 1988 The Kitchen NYC, New Music America MIami, NW Artists Workshop, Portland.
- 1987 Franklin Furnace, The Knitting Factory, NYC, Portland Center for the Visual Arts, New Langton Arts Multidisciplinary Project Grant.
- 1986 The Art Gym, Portland, On the Boards, Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, Dance Studio, LA.
- 1985 On the Boards, Seattle, The House, Santa Monica, CA.
- 1984 Littman Gallery, NW Artists Workshop, Portland.
- 1983 NEA Artist Fellowship, Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship, Portland Art Museum, Portland Center for the Visual Arts.
- 1982 Elizabeth Leach Gallery, NW Artists Workshop, Portland, Rosco Louie Gallery, Seattle
External links
- Official website
- [ Ken Butler] on allmusic.com
- Ken Butler on oddmusic.com
- List of media and tv appearances