Thank G_d for Mississippi
Father and Daughter Show Their Art at MAC
Paul and Nina Becker will provide music and photography for a joint musical showcase and exhibit at Monongahela Art Center, 107 High Street, Morgantown. The showcase is scheduled for 3:00 pm in the Tanner Theatre and the exhibit opening public reception will be from 4:30 – 6:00 pm in the Benedum Gallery.
Paul will play classical piano, blues piano, blues accordion, and Klezmer (19th Century Jewish folk) music. He is known in Morgantown for playing his gold accordion on the streets downtown. He was most recently second runner-up at WVU’s faculty/staff talent show. His earlier musical lives included studying classical piano at Mannes College of Music in New York City and playing in soul and blues bands in Philadelphia and New York City. Presently he is conducting a piano coaching class sponsored by West Virginia University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He performs with his other daughter, Abby Becker, in Slobodka, West Virginia’s premier Klezmer band. Note, he has not yet given up his faculty day job.
Nina returned to school to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in photography at University of California, Irvine, after working in architecture and fashion photography. She was recently selected as one of America’s best young photographers. She will show five major pieces that are collectively titled Thank G_D for Mississippi. For this work, she returned to her home state of West Virginia to photograph sites commonly used for fatal or near fatal jumps into water. The title derives from the common use in West Virginia of the phrase, “thank g_d for Mississippi, denoting West Virginia’s ranking close to the bottom in the nation for many socio-economic indicators.
Risky behavior and suicide are one reaction by young West Virginian’s to their challenging social and economic environment. Using a boom to suspend her camera ten feet over the edges of these sites, Nina photographed the view seen only by individuals once they have jumped. This series of photographs incorporates and depicts the dichotomous elements of destruction and sublime geographical beauty. The exhibit will run through May 1.