Robert Buck

[Art] is a free spot in society, where you can do anything. Chris Burden, as quoted in a press release for Robert Beck / Robert Buck: A two-part presentation, Part 1: Robert Beck: Vestige, Ulterior Gallery, New York, 2018

New York–based transdisciplinary artist Robert Buck, whose biography locates him in New York City and “far west Texas,” changed his last name from Beck to Buck through a commitment to identity and language in his artistic operation and for conceptual purposes. For this Tuesday Evenings presentation, sign language interpretation will be provided utilizing the services of a Certified Deaf Interpreter – another nod to notions of language and the "speaking body," as he shares his work and ideas in a special presentation titled "Beauty is the last defense..." All are welcome.

Having gone through the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program, Beck/Buck has exhibited his work nationally and internationally since the 1990s. His 2017 exhibition with artist Donald Moffett, Range: Experiments in New York, 1961–2007, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, exemplifies a creative and collaborative spirit as Moffett imaginatively responded to a single work by Beck/Buck, the pages of a sketch pad he shot with a .22-caliber rifle. While compelled by an ongoing investigation of subjectivity and interpretation, Beck/Buck’s artistic practice is varied, wherein materials inform meaning and an affinity for text and all that words imply is evident. Writing as well as making, he contributed a provocative essay to the recently released Artists on Andy Warhol, part of the Dia Art Foundation publication series Artists on Artists.

Image: Robert Buck in his New York studio. Photo: Takako Tanabe

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Tickets

This popular series of lectures and presentations by artists, architects, historians, and critics is free and open to the public each Tuesday from September 4 through November 13, excluding September 18 and November 6. Visit www.themodern.org/programs/lectures for more information on each talk.

Lectures begin at 7 pm in the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth's auditorium. Seating begins at 6:30 pm and is limited to 250; a live broadcast of the presentations is shown in Café Modern for any additional guests.

(*The American Institute of Architecture lecture on October 23 will have an alternative schedule. A reception will be held in the Grand Lobby at 5:30 pm, the lecture begins at 6 pm, and award announcements are at 6:45 pm.)

A limited number of tickets (limit two per person) will be available for purchase ($5) from 10 am until 4 pm the day of the lecture online at www.themodern.org/programs/lectures. Free admission tickets (limit two per person) are available at the Modern's information desk beginning at 5 pm on the day of the lecture. The museum galleries remain open until 7 pm on Tuesdays during the series (general admission applies). 

Café Modern serves cocktails and appetizers until 7 pm on Tuesday nights during the lecture series.   

Revisit the insightful lectures from Tuesday Evenings or discover new ways to look at works in the Museum's collection with the Modern Podcasts. Hear artists speak about their work or listen to curators' perspectives and discussions at www.themodern.org/podcasts.