Picture a dreary Monday morning. You’ve just rolled out of bed and are jogging to the bus stop with your half eaten Good Morning Camper from Alpine dangling from your lips. You board the C-1, bracing yourself for the inevitably bumpy ride. Alas, it’s not enough and you’re nearly flung to the floor as the bus lurches suddenly to one side, fallen victim yet again to “the worst roads in the world.”
But fear not. Duke Performances houses one man attempting to right this wrong, to bring about the ultimate cessation of embarrassment aboard the C-1, one blog entry at a time.
Ken Rumble, Duke Perfomances’s director of marketing, musician and author of the blog Durham Has the Worst Roads in the World blog, will add the title artist to his already impressive roster this Friday with the opening of his new art instalation, entitled “Cliffs (Empty).”
“Cliffs (Empty)” is an interactive piece, with musical and aesthetic portions. Hundreds of yards of white fabric hang from the high ceilings, obscuring musicians who will be improvising music for the exhibition’s duration.
“Ken had a vision of something that he thought would be rad to actualize and so he did that,” said collaborator and fellow musician Megan Stein. “He is making art simply to make art...hopefully it will mean something to the audience and challenge them. To me, this is art in the purest sense.”
Rumble has been working on the project since August.
“I think it will be an interesting, weird experience,” Rumble said.“I think it will appeal to a lot of people. It’s an art installation that doesn’t really have a visual element. It’s more about touch and sound. It’s fun and different than walking into a gallery and looking at a painting on a wall. I also just think it’s cool.”
Rumble knows all about cool. In addition to making art, Rumble enjoys blogging about the destitute Durham roads (with his nine-year-old daughter, Durham Has the Worst Roads in the World’s chief photographer), publishing poetry and playing music. Rumble is a member of three small bands: High Master (a self-proclaimed “Viking rock band”), Tecate Noir and Slutty New Wave Haircut. Members of the latter two will be providing the musical portion of “Cliffs (Empty).”
“Ken’s enthusiasm for personal and community projects is renowned,” said Chris Vitiello, another collaborator and musician with the project. “As an artist, he has a combination of restlessness and curiosity that has led him necessarily into the production of multimedia events.”
Between the poetry, photography, music and the public service of necessary road reform, Rumble finds time to do it all, which is lucky for any Durham resident who uses a vehicle. Next time you board the C-1, you know you’ll have Mr. Rumble to thank for having grabbed onto something, right before the bus hit that pothole.
“Cliffs (Empty)” will be performed Friday, Sept. 18 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at 715 Washington St. as part of Durham’s Third Friday festivities.
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