Judge Rucker delivered the following comments during the unveiling of her portrait March 28.
“We are here for a portrait unveiling, and my dear friend and former art teacher Lynn Winningham taught me that any work of art should have an artist’s statement explaining the work. For those of you who might not be familiar with this type of writing, one source describes an artist statement as a ‘not too long series of sentences that describes what you [made] and why you [made] it. It’s a stand-in for you, the artist, talking to someone about your work in a way that adds to their experience of viewing that work.’
“I’m not saying my career should be viewed as art but that we’re here [to unveil] a portrait. I also realize I’m taking liberties speaking for the artist. This is obviously not a selfie. It was taken by a talented photographer whose work I’ve admired for a long time. Taylor English took the photograph and composed it for me in such way as to tell the story I wanted to tell.
“Here is the statement:
“The portrait is a photograph of Judge Shelley Rucker taken by Taylor English in the courtroom of the Historic U.S. Courthouse during the last year of her term. It’s a traditional pose for a judicial portrait, with the judge standing by an American flag. The seal of the Bankruptcy Court in the background suggests the location of her service – the Eastern District of Tennessee.
“Both the flag and the seal are familiar symbols of the source of her judicial authority, in addition to her robe. She’s standing to show her respect for that authority, and as a reminder that the respect to be shown by the public is for the position and not the person.
“Judge Rucker wears a pink-collared shirt [in] a nod to the progress made by women in the legal profession over the course of her career. The robe was her farewell gift from the firm Miller & Martin, where she practiced before taking the bench. Her earrings and ring are anniversary presents from her husband, Glen Vey, given to her on their 20th anniversary before she took the bench and on their 40th wedding anniversary during her last year as a judge.
“The other significant piece in the photograph is the chair, which is empty. While this denotes the absence of a successor at the time she ended her term, her primary reason to give the chair such prominence is to offer hope that the chair will be filled in the future – filled by someone who might never have thought she could be a judge.
“The chair invites viewers to consider whether they might one day be the one to take that seat. More broadly, it challenges viewers to consider how they might step up, take a seat and use their time and skills to serve the public.”