Working in Time: A Celebration of the Arts in Honor of Bruce Jackson

The Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music and Lippes Concert Hall is proud to host Working in Time: A Celebration of the Arts in Honor of Bruce Jackson, presented by SUNY Distinguished Professors Bruce Jackson and David Felder, on Friday, September 21, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m., in Lippes Hall. 

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the University at Buffalo Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and will celebrate the art of James Agee Professor of American Culture in the Department of English, Bruce Jackson, a Guggenheim Fellow whose interdisciplinary career as an artist and scholar integrates literature, music, ethnography, folklore, sociology, photography, and documentary film-making. He has written or edited 32 books, one of which is the recently published In This Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America, in which he collaborated with UB English Professor Diane Christian, who will act as moderator throughout the day. Jackson has had 20 solo photography exhibits, including Death Row, on view this fall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Next Spring, the Burchfield Penney Art Center will present an exhibition of more than 350 of his photographs.

Bruce Jackson

The day will open with greetings from UB President Satish K. Tripathi, who speaks with great respect about Jackson’s work, “UB has a long history of leadership in scholarly and creative excellence at the vanguard of the arts, and as we launch a new annual tradition that celebrates that tradition of cutting-edge work, Bruce really emerged as an ideal figure to spotlight in this inaugural event.

“Like much of the very best work in the arts and humanities, Bruce’s work defies easy definition. His films, photographs, social commentary and scholarship all cut across multiple fields and have tremendously broad relevance, from the academy to popular culture, to international social policy. The incredible scope and reach of those achievements embody the complex, interdisciplinary contributions of the arts—and of the research university itself.”

The celebration will feature a world premiere by UB Professor and Birge-Cary Chair in Composition David Felder, titled A Garland for Bruce, starring UB faculty cellist Jonathan Golove. Jackson describes Felder as “one of the people who makes UB a viable intellectual and artistic community.”

The day will also showcase images from Jackson’s forthcoming book Inside the Wire: Photographs from Texas and Arkansas Prisons, as well as music from Jackson’s Grammy-nominated album Wake Up Dead Man. American filmmaker and documentarian Frederick Wiseman will also participate, and screen his most recent film, Crazy Horse.

After the event, at 5:00 p.m., there will be a reception at the nearby UB Center for the Arts Atrium, where all will be invited to participate in an open discussion with Bruce Jackson, David Felder, and Frederick Wiseman.