Biography
Ken Butler, active as both musician and visual artist, has fashioned one-of-a-kind instruments from objects such as hockey sticks, axes, bicycle wheels, and guns. Although he received only brief viola instruction during childhood, his musical curiosity remained undiminished while he completed visual-arts coursework at universities in the United States and France. He earned an M.F.A. in painting in 1977 and, the next year, built his first hybrid instrument. Solo recitals occur occasionally, yet most of his presentations unfold as multi-media productions; he has likewise realized expansive audio-visual installations. Works by Butler have appeared in exhibitions across Europe and North America as well as in Peru and Tokyo, with New York City showings at venues ranging from Roulette to The Knitting Factory to MoMA. Fellowships, grants, and awards have come to him from the NEA, the Oregon Arts Commission, and other organizations. The 1997 Tzadik release Voices of Anxious Objects documents Butler performing on his instruments with multi-instrumentalist Matt Darriau, bassist Stomu Takeishi, and percussionist Seido Salifoski.
Albums